Arts and Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts movement emerged in 19th-century England in response to the hardships imposed on workers under a growing factory system. Critics denounced the degrading conditions that labor endured as well as the shoddy quality of goods flooding the market. Calling for a revival of handicraft, the movement’s leaders argued that handcrafted wares were morally superior because of the way they were created and also more beautiful. Inspired by the Middle Ages, Arts and Crafts architects embraced the Gothic revival, joining craftsmen, often in guilds, to ornament and furnish churches, houses, and other buildings. Over time, leaders in the movement encouraged revivals of national and regional traditions, the use of local materials, and simple designs. Preservation of historic buildings also was championed. The Arts and Crafts movement has spawned hundreds of books, some academic and many directed to the popular market. To confuse matters for the serious researcher, more than a few coffee table books have been written by experts and should be consulted. Another challenge is the fact that many publications on the Arts and Crafts movement integrate studies of architecture, interior design, and the decorative arts. These studies are worth exploring as many Arts and Crafts architects were engaged in many manifestations of design, ranging from tile and stained glass to pottery and printing. Yet another challenge is the lack of clarity about what is considered Arts and Crafts architecture. The views promulgated by England’s William Morris and his circle form an accepted basis for the movement. Its flowering in Great Britain is central to the literature, while the transmission of Arts and Crafts ideas to the United States has long been recognized. The influence of Arts and Crafts concepts to movements on the Continent, such as the Viennese Secession and Art Nouveau, is examined in some studies; however, architectural historians usually treat these developments as distinctive and do not position them directly under the Arts and Crafts umbrella. Most authors on American Arts and Crafts architecture have examined particular regions and specific architects. Others have written about various Arts and Crafts styles that took hold at the turn of the 20th century. A few writers have documented the craftsmen who collaborated with the Arts and Crafts architects while others have explored Arts and Crafts themes in garden design.