Born in 1834 to a wealthy middle class family in Walthamstow, William Morris was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist who was an outstanding figure in the Arts and Craft movement. He developed his own particular style of art from a young age, and he began to realize the only way he could have the beautiful home he wanted was if he designed every part of it himself. He famously once said, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
The aesthetic and social vision of the movement grew out of ideas that he developed in the 1850s with a group of students at the University of Oxford– the Birmingham Set– who combined a love of Romantic literature with a commitment to social reform. The Birmingham Set consisted of 8 outstanding individuals including Charles Joseph Faulkner, Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Cormell Price, Richard Watson Dixon, Edwin Hatch, William Fulford, and Harry MacDonald.
In 1861, Morris founded the Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. decorative arts firm with Burne-Jones (one of the members of The Birmingham Set), Rossetti, Webb, and others. The firm influenced interior decoration throughout the Victorian period. Morris was responsible for designing wallpapers, fabrics, furniture, and stained glass windows, which became highly fashionable and high in demand. In 1875, he took over total control of the company, and was renamed Morris & Co instead.
It was around 1880 where the Arts and Crafts movement officially came to be, which was born from the concerns of people who were worried about the effects of industrialization on design and traditional craft. In response to these concerns, architects, designers, craftsmen, and artists turned to new ways of living and working, pioneering new approaches to create decorative arts. William Morris was one of the leading figures in this movement with his belief that people should be surrounded by beautiful, well made things and wanted to promote the job of craftsmanship. He was mostly well known for his wallpaper designs and has created over 50 designs in his career.
“Strawberry Thief” by William Morris 
“Bird & Pomegranate” by William Morris
Citations
Archive II wallpapers. morrisandco. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://morrisandco.sandersondesigngroup.com/collections/archive-ii-wallpapers/
Arts and Crafts Movement. Arts and Crafts Movement | William Morris. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://exhibitions.lib.umd.edu/williammorris/morris-influence/arts-and-crafts-movement
Taggart, E. (2022, August 25). Meet William Morris: The most celebrated designer of the Arts & Crafts Movement. My Modern Met. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://mymodernmet.com/arts-and-crafts-movement-william-morris/