From Publishers Weekly
Augustus Pugin, who died insane at the age of 40 in 1852, designed interiors for the Palace of Westminster, spearheaded the Gothic Revival and laid the foundation for Britain's preeminence in 19th-century design. Beginning with Pugin, this detailed, magnificently illustrated study traces interwoven artistic strands--the Arts and Crafts movement, the "American Renaissance" style of Louis Tiffany, Art Nouveau, etc.--and documents the experiments of William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Christopher Dresser and others in architecture, furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles and metalwork. Gere ( Nine teeth- Century Decoration ) and Whiteway, a consultant in 19th-century design, pay special attention to the "Art Movement" led by Edward Burne-Jones, Walter Crane and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which merged Gothic with Queen Anne Revival, vernacular, Japonisme and Egyptian exoticism. This striking volume will be indispensable to students of the period.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Strictly speaking, this should be titled Late 19th Century British Design. That quibble aside, this work is certain to become one of the core resources on this highly creative period. Following a brief essay on the first half of the century, the authors plunge into the Gothic Revival movement in architecture and furnishings, which in turn gave way to the Art, or Aesthetic, style, reflecting Japanese influences; and the impact of furniture designer Edward Godwin; the Arts and Crafts Movement and its guiding force William Morris; Liberty's of London; Charles Voysey; and the very stylized designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Covering architecture, furniture, metal craft, ceramics, textiles, and graphic design, this will serve as a valuable companion volume to Jeremy Cooper's Victorian and Edwardian Decor (Abbeville Pr., 1987). Illustrated in the publisher's usual lush style, with 150 black-and-white and 200 color illustrations, this is highly recommended.
- Joseph Hewgley, Nashville P.L.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
