William Morris:
Story, Memory, Myth
28th October 2011- 29th January 2012

The inaugural exhibition looks at how William Morris told stories through pattern and poetry. It will examine the tales that were most important to him, such as the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Norse saga, Arthurian legend and Greek myth.

Morris returned to the same stories throughout his artistic career, and this exhibition explores his continued fascination by arranging the works according to the tale they tell rather than their medium.

For example, five rarely seen panels of the embroidered frieze 'The Romaunt of the Rose' will be exhibited together with editions of 'The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer', elaborately illustrated by Morris and Edward Burne-Jones and printed by Morris' private press.

Both the frieze and Chaucer drew inspiration from the French medieval text the 'Roman de la Rose' (Romance of the Rose). This will be the first time that these exquisite panels have been seen since their recent conservation by The Royal School of Needlework.

William Morris, ‘King Arthur and Sir Launcelot’, from The Story of Tristram and Isoude series.

Stained-glass panel, 1862. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.

Bradford Museums and Galleries

Design for Acanthus furnishing fabric.
Pencil and watercolour on paper, 1879. William Morris Gallery, London.

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