Until 15 November 2026

A New Paradise brings together new work by five contemporary artists who share William Morris' vision. Each artist has reinterpreted Morris' The Earthly Paradise for the 21st century.

Exhibiting artists: Elizabeth Bessant, Claire Worthington, Julia Timmins, Celia Lewis, Louise Atkinson.

Meet the Artists
Sunday 25 October, 12-2pm.

Visit the exhibition and meet Claire Worthington, Elizabeth Bessant, Celia Lewis and Julia Timmins. The artists will be talking about their work and demonstrating their practice.

William Morris' vision

William Morris was a poet of the natural world. Its beauty shaped both his writing and his design work, two expressions of the same conviction.

He first found fame with The Earthly Paradise (1868 to 70), an epic poem drawing on Classical and Norse mythology. But his interest in beauty went further than storytelling. It shaped his politics, his writing, and his belief in the handmade, a philosophy that would define his celebrated fabrics and wallpapers. For Morris, beauty was never a luxury. It was essential to life itself.

A century and a half later, his ideas feel newly relevant. As mass production and disposability face growing scrutiny, and as we rediscover the beauty and fragility of the natural world, Morris's vision speaks directly to the present moment.