Walter Crane

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Image features a two handled ovoid vase with a lusterware glaze, ornamented in resist copper-colored decoration. Surface decoration consists of two heraldic lions along with foliage and twining vines. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Once Upon a Time in Lancashire
At moments of dramatic social and cultural change a reflection on the past, or, better put, a past reimagined and romanticized, often offers a path of cathartic escape. Such was the case as Great Britain was transforming rapidly under the effects of modernization during the nineteenth century. The expansion of global communications and transportation, acceleration...
Image features a wallpaper design with two putti, two birds, and a goat. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
The Golden Age, or Two Putti and a Goat
The Golden Age is a delightful wallpaper designed by Walter Crane in 1887 and printed by Jeffrey & Co. in London as part of their Victorian Wall-Paper collection. The design contains two winged putti, standing on a large foliate swag, supporting or carrying a large basket of fruit. There are two large birds, maybe cockatoos,...
Selling Victorian Wallpaper
The wallpaper manufacturer, Jeffrey & Co. published the trade catalog, The “Victorian” wall-papers, embossed leather-papers, staircase decorations, ceiling papers, detailing their collection of wallpapers, in 1887. Based at 64 Essex Road in London, the firm worked with a variety of designers who were active in the aesthetic and arts and crafts movements, such as E.W....
Image features wallpaper panel showing arabesque of large acanthus rinceaux, tulips, and wiry scrolls, with large perching peacocks whose tails hang downward. The predominent colors are shades of blue, green, and brown. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Relaxing with the Peacocks
This post was originally published on March 5, 2016. Wallpaper can be used to create a very personal space, one reflecting the style and/or temperament of its creator, or possibly to inspire the desired mood. The myriad wallpapers in production at any given time range from ultra-minimal and loose, to dense pattern-rich designs. Peacock Garden,...
And the Crown goes to Crane
Walter Crane was one of the most successful of late Victorian designers, and this must be one of his most beautiful patterns for wallpaper. It is a multi-layered design featuring several fantastical motifs such as winged sphinxes, winged lions, peacocks, the biblical Tree of Knowledge with the serpent wrapped around it, and medieval standards topped...
Living in a World of Nursery Rhymes
As one of the best-known British decorative artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Walter Crane’s design touched upon the fields of books, textiles, wallpaper, stained glass, and ceramics. Children’s education played a considerably important part in the subject matter of Crane’s book illustration and wallpaper designs. In 1875, Crane (1845-1915) was commissioned by Jeffrey...
WALTER CRANE’S THE ABSURD A.B.C.
One of the most creative periods in the history of children’s books took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. “Father of the illustrated children’s book”, Walter Crane, (1845-1915) was not only one of the most prolific illustrators in the Victorian era, but was also an artist and decorative designer in the fields...
Image features wallpaper panel showing arabesque of large acanthus rinceaux, tulips, and wiry scrolls, with large perching peacocks whose tails hang downward. The predominent colors are shades of blue, green, and brown. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Relaxing with the Peacocks
Wallpaper can be used to create a very personal space, one reflecting the style and/or temperament of its creator, or possibly to inspire the desired mood. The myriad wallpapers in production at any given time range from ultra-minimal and loose, to dense pattern-rich designs. Peacock Garden, a beautiful design of flora and fauna by Walter...
The Draw of Macaw
“Crane’s facile handling of gorgeous birds…has never been excelled,” gushed A.V. Sugden and J.L. Edmondson in their “History of English Wallpaper,” written in 1926. Almost a century later, their compliment still rings true. “Macaw,” designed by Walter Crane for Jeffrey & Company, was originally created as a display piece for the manufacturer’s exhibit at the...