"Peonies Blown in Wind " window, John LaFarge (American 1835-1910) 1886, Leaded stained and opalescent glass, *Museum of Fine Arts General Funds, *Photograph @ Museum of F.A., Boston

John La Farge, painter, stained glass designer. Among his many commissions, decoration of the Trinity Church in Boston placed La Farge at the forefront of the American Arts and Crafts movement. He early admired the formality and patterning of Japanese art, and he recorded his impressions of his travels in Asia in An Artist’s Letters from Japan (1897). La Farge’s stained-glass windows reflect the Gilded Age fascination with medieval art and craftsmanship. The industrial revolution had made inexpensive, mass-produced glass available to anyone, but art glass remained an emblem of wealth and good taste (excerpt from Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery).  La Farge experimented with color problems in medium of stained glass.  Opalescent glass invention of superimposing and welding his material.

Permission of  Art Institute of Chicago

Attributed to George Prentiss Kendrick (1850–1919); Decoration attributed to Eva Russell (American, active c. 1905); Grueby Faience Company (1894–1909). Vase, 1903/09. Boston, Massachusetts. Glazed earthenware. The Art Institute of Chicago, restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society; through prior acquisition of the B.F. Ferguson Fund; Skinner Sales Proceeds Fund; Wesley M. Dixon, Jr., and Roger and J. Peter McCormick endowments; through prior acquisition of the Antiquarian Society; The Goodman Fund; Simeon B. Williams, Harriet A. Fox, and Mrs. Wendell Fentress Ott funds; Highland Park Community Associates; Charles R. and Janice Feldstein Endowment Fund for Decorative Arts.

The exhibit, “Apostles of Beauty:  Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago”  recently closed at the Art Institute of Chicago.  The show focused on the development of English artist William Morris and The Arts and Crafts movement which began in Victorian England, the cradle of industrialization.  The movement ran counter to industrialization and focused on the handmade object, and the ability of a beautiful and well designed environment to provide moral uplift. The movement was both a philosophy and a style that permeated domestic interior, including decorative art and furniture, painting and textiles. The movement had special resonance in Chicago, one of the most industrial of American cities at the turn of the 20th century

Pomona Courtesy of William Morris Society

William Morris was such a protean figure that the following sections of the William Morris Society website can only provide a guide to his life and works. Two of the four sections of the website illustrate Morris’ Art and Life, containing introductory material, examples, and links to additional material found on the website.

• Art: Morris’s work in the visual and decorative arts, including book design, calligraphy, furniture, decorative arts, paintings, drawings, stained glass, tapestries, textiles, and wallpapers
• Life: A general introduction to William Morris, offering biography, a chronology, and links to the places and people with which he was associated.

5 March–5 June - Facing the Late Victorians: Portraits of Writers and Artists from the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, exhibition at the Henry B. Plant Museum, Tampa, FL. Occassioned by the Nineteenth Century Association’s annual conference, “Theatricality and the Performative in the Long Nineteenth Century.

Evenlode Courtesy William Morris Society

CALL FOR PAPERS
Useful & Beautiful: The Transatlantic Arts
of William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites
Conference at the Univesity of Delaware, Winterthur Museum and Delaware Art Museum, 7–9 October 2010
Proposals due 15 March 2010

http://www.morrissociety.org

Chrysanthemum Courtesy of the William Morris Gallery

The William Morris Gallery is the only museum in the world specifically devoted to the life, work and influence of William Morris (1834-1896), the artist, craftsman, writer, socialist and environmental campaigner. It is housed in his former family home, ‘Water House’.  William Morris’ design work is known for its major influence in the establishment of the principles of the British Arts and Crafts movement.

Sunflower Courtesy of the William Morris Gallery

Morris and fellow artist, Edward Burne-Jones “admired (the sunflower’s) stature and simplicity-an ornament worthy of heraldry - and gave the sunflower a romantic medieval heritage. … the sunflower became the  fashionable flower, transplanted from the back corner of the garden to the center of the stylish drawing room, writes Debra N. Mancoff in her book, “Flora Symbolica  Flowers in Pre-Raphaelite Art,” Prestel, 1998.

The Gallery’s collections are of international significance and include examples of all William Morris’s artistic activities as well as an important archive of manuscripts and printed material. As well as work by Morris and his circle, the Gallery has very significant and in some cases unique collections of artifacts and designs by Morris’s followers; the protagonists of the Arts & Crafts Movement, the only major art movement to have originated in Britain. It also houses the Brangwyn Gift (donated by the artist Sir Frank Brangwyn R.A. (1867-1956) of paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture by 19^th- and early 20^th-century British and Continental artists.

Daisy Courtesy of William Morris Gallery

www.walthamforest.gov.uk/william-morris

University of Dundee Botanic Garden Photo Credit: Steve Page

Garden Of Light - Walk The World

Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February 2010

For two nights in February 2010, visitors will be able to walk through the extensive grounds of the University Of Dundee Botanic Gardens and experience a spectacular display of light and sound.

Taking inspiration from the impressive collections of plants from around the world, this event is themed to reflect and recreate some of the sounds of the continents and cultures of the world. Following on from the highly successful Garden of Light in February 2009, the 2010 event is expected to be very popular and will be significantly larger. For the first time the event will extend into the extreme eastern end of the garden to bring the Asian plant collections into full view. The Australian area has been expanded and new interactive elements will test the skills of young and old alike to create your own light shows.

University of Dundee Botanic Gardens Photo Credit: Steve Page

With over 19 acres of garden to be illuminated - and over 2 kilometers of marked trails, the Garden Of Light is by far the largest outdoor sound and light show in Scotland.

With all music being specially commissioned for the event, and approximately 400 lights spread throughout the grounds - this event offers a spectacular and unique experience which sets itself out from the crowd and makes it a must see event in 2010.

The event is not just for plant lovers but will appeal to the whole family, and with varied entry times - you can choose a time that suits you.

The University Of Dundee Botanic Garden is situated in the west end of the City - it is therefore easily accessible and only a few minutes by public transport or car from the city centre. Getting to such a show has never been easier!

Courtesy Norfolk Botanical Garden

Garden of Lights at Norfolk Botanical Garden is a 2 ½ mile drive-through light show highlighting the four-seasons.

The glow of the Garden winds through the four seasons as they come alive with millions of twinkling lights.

The 2.5 miles of meandering paths are filled with beautiful displays, light-filled trees and the new Garden by the Sea underwater adventure. The new scene features beautiful Mermaid and her friends that are helping the City of Norfolk celebrate the Year of the Mermaid (our city symbol.)

Courtesy Norfolk Botanical Garden

This is the 15^th annual Garden of Light show at the garden.  All proceeds benefit children’s programming in the World of Wonders Children’s Adventure Garden.

Norfolk Botanical Garden is nationally recognized for its deep-rooted history and celebrated for its blooms in every season. In 1938 a WPA grant paid 220 African-American workers to clear 30 acres of dense vegetation, sowing the seeds for what is now one of the largest collections of azaleas, camellias, roses and rhododendrons on the East Coast. The 155 acre garden is home to 30 distinctive themed gardens, 95 species of birds and 30 kinds of butterflies. Our latest garden is World of Wonders – A Children’s Adventure Garden – a 3-acre garden where kids explore the connections between plants, international culture and the environment – all while having fun!

www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org