EXHIBITING WILLIAM DE MORGAN: PUBLIC AND CRITICAL RECEPTION OF DE MORGAN CERAMICS IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY

Zoom lecture by Sarah Hardy at 6.00 pm (London). William De Morgan was the premier designer and maker of decorative ceramics in the late-Victorian period. Friends with William Morris and Walter Crane, he was influenced by Arts & Crafts design principles and the opulence exemplified by the Aesthetic Movement. Whether glistening lustre or his signature Persian ware, De Morgan ceramics were sought after by affluent patrons. De Morgan displayed his ceramics in popular exhibitions which attracted tens of thousands of visitors. A founder member of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society, he was a well-connected and actively exhibiting artisan. Sarah Hardy will give a considered overview of De Morgan’s exhibition history in his own lifetime and the critical reception of his ceramics as part of the aesthetic of the day.