Publication Date
Spring 4-2017
School
School of Visual and Performing Arts
Major
Studio and Digital Arts
Keywords
William Morris, Art, Arts and Crafts Movement, Design, Victorian Era, Industrial Age, Revolution, British, Pre-Raphaelites
Disciplines
History | Printmaking
Recommended Citation
McDonald, Bethany E., "The Artist as a Revolutionary: A Portrait of the Life of William Morris" (2017). Senior Honors Theses. 664.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/664
Abstract
William Morris became an artistic revolutionary, reacting against the academic views of art held in the Victorian Era and the Industrial Revolution. This thesis will deal with his reaction against the expectations of his family and the events of his childhood, showing their effect upon his future role as a revolutionary. This thesis will then cover his response against the Royal Academy’s academic art, the Industrial Revolution, and how his art ideologies clashed against the common norm of his time. Finally, this thesis will look at how each of his reactions led to his influential role in the Arts and Crafts Movement. The object of this study is to discover how William Morris was considered an artist of influence in the progression of art history and the extent of his position against the common views of society so the reader may understand his historic role.
