TV dramas’ use of William Morris wallpaper ‘has distorted fans’ view of Victorian life’
PERIOD dramas “plastering” William Morris designs on their walls have “distorted” viewers’ impression of Victorian life, according to an art curator.
Between 1862 and his death in 1896, the artist tested the boundaries of the era’s sensibilities with wallpaper designs that were considered avantgarde and radical.
Morris produced more than 50 wallpapers during his career, the visually arresting and intricate works focusing on plants and nature, such as curling acanthus leaves.
However, the arts and crafts pioneer received a lukewarm reception from the public, with his wealthier clientele opting for gaudier styles in the vein of Augustus Pugin, who designed the lavish interior of the Palace of Westminster.
Anna Mason, a former curator and manager of the William Morris Gallery in London, said his output would have had only “niche” appeal.
But this has not prevented television executives from bedecking the walls of their period dramas with William Morris designs, according to Ms Mason.
When speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Ms Mason, who has edited a book about Morris that marks the 125th anniversary of his death, to be published next month, was asked if the popularity of his wallpaper led to his other artistic endeavours, in the fields of textiles and poetry, being overlooked. She replied: “I think now it probably does. I mentioned period dramas at the start and I think there is a real problem.
“Because his designs have never gone out of production, whenever people are setting a period drama in the Victorian period they plaster William Morris on the walls because it’s easy, you can ring up and get something on the wall.
“But that kind of distorts the reality, because in his own day he wasn’t in homes up and down the country. Now it’s the archetype of what a Victorian home looks like.
“Whereas in his day, the market for his wallpapers was, at the beginning in particular, very niche.”
Willliam Morris wallpaper has been showcased in dramas such as the HBO drama Nevers, which tells the story of a group of Victorian women who, in 1899, were gifted supernatural powers.