William Morris

William Morris (1834 – 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist. Morris was associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production. His designs for furniture, fabrics, stained glass, wallpaper, and other decorative arts generated the Arts and Crafts movement in England. Morris’s style was greatly influenced by medievalism, and his work helped to establish the modern fantasy genre. His techniques involved handmade production, which contrasted with the Victorian era’s focus on industrial 'progress’.