Picture in Focus
Photograph of William de Morgan (6.5 x 4.25ins) by Florence Montabone
IMAGES:
1. Photograph of William de Morgan (6.5 x 4.25ins) by Florence Montabone
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2. William and Evelyn de Morgan in Venice (9.75 x 7.75ins) by an unknown photographer
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3. William De Morgan, Six Inch Pink Lustre Wall Tile with a Stylised Flower Design,
1888- 1904
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William Frend De Morgan (1839- 1917) was the leading ceramic artist of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the latter half of the nineteenth century. William studied art at the Royal Academy Schools and excelled in the decorative arts and stained glass. In 1887 William married Evelyn Pickering (1855- 1919) (see image two), a symbolist and allegorical painter who shared his professional and private interests. G.F. Watts admired Evelyn and described her as ‘the first woman artist of the day- if not of all time’.
William De Morgan was life- long friends with William Morris and from 1863- 1872 he designed tiles, stained glass and furniture for Morris & Co. De Morgan was influenced by the exhibits that he visited in the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) and his tiles are often based on sixteenth- century Turkish Isnik patterns. Traditional Turkish flowers- hyacinths, tulips, carnations feature in his designs in bold cobalt blues and turquoises.
De Morgan experimented with innovative glazes and firing techniques. He created Lustre pottery, an ancient technique dating back to ninth century (see image three). Lustre has the surface appearance of oil on water and reflects light like polished metal. The desired areas of the ceramic are painted with a metallic oxide and when the kiln gets to the correct temperature twigs or wood shavings are added to the kiln, which catch fire. This requires oxygen which is released from the metallic oxide leaving a fine film of metal on the surface. De Morgan’s designs using this method tend to include animal and reptile designs and are red Lustre on a white background. Watts Gallery owns a number of tiles by William De Morgan and these can be seen by searching the collection from Watts Gallery’s website.
De Morgan was a rare talent; a novelist, a chemist, and an inventor who designed all his own pottery kilns and equipment. Mary Watts took advantage of De Morgan’s expertise when she installed her first kiln in the garden at Limnerslease. The wood- fired bottle kiln was made of brick with twin stoke- holes and was used for making the panels for Watts Cemetery Chapel and for the pottery up until 1911.
While Watts Gallery has been closed for the Hope Restoration Project an A- Z list has been made to record each of the artists represented in Watts Gallery’s collection. From this we can tell that there are around ten books written about William De Morgan and his wife Evelyn and there are a number of photographs of the artist and his family.The full A- Z list will be available on the website by early Summer 2011. The catalogue of all the books in Watts Gallery Study Centre will also soon be available for researchers and visitors to access from the website.
When Watts Gallery re-opens in early Summer 2011 students and visitors will be able to make an appointment to come and study and explore the history, society, culture and ideas of the 19th Century in the Watts Gallery Study Centre. Two rooms, the John George Archive and Study Room which includes a replica of Mary Watts’s pelican rug, donated to Watts Gallery by Veedon Fleece, and the Study Seminar Room, have been transformed into suitable accommodation for Watts Gallery’s library and archives. There are over three thousand books, periodicals, catalogues and pamphlets which were given by the late Christopher Wood, collected by consecutive curators at Watts Gallery and given as gifts by other individuals since it’s opening in 1904. Watts Gallery’s archive comprises letters, diaries, sketchbooks, and drawings by or belonging to George and Mary Watts, The Rob Dickins Collection of over 4000 photographs and manuscript letters relating to leading Victorian cultural figures, over 1000 photographs by Hollyer and approximately 500 glass slide negatives recording the Wattses life and work.
We look forward to welcoming you to Watts Gallery Study Centre.
Catherine Hilary, Curatorial Fellow at Watts Gallery
