Curling vines, blooming roses, and leaves once fragments of patterns in an archive of sketches, tracings, and unfinished repetitions by William Morris have been brought to light for the first time in The Unfinished Works, a new Morris & Co. collection that transforms 26 of Morris’s 19th-century designs into realized creations.
Debuted on September 2, The Unfinished Works presents designs by the British textile designer and his protégé John Henry Dearle. The designs, preserved in California cultural educational institution The Huntington’s archive, have now been completed and produced as wallpaper, printed and woven fabrics, borders, embroideries, and jacquards. Morris & Co., the original company Morris founded in 1861 and now part of the Sanderson Design Group, worked from Morris’s and Dearle’s original notes, methods, and color references, applying the same hand-finished techniques faithful to the originals.
The Huntington holds one of the world’s top three Morris archives, a collection with hundreds of unfinished designs, rare volumes from Morris’s Kelmscott Press, which he founded in 1891. Acquired in 1999, the archive includes watercolor and pencil sketches, wallpaper and textile studies, figure drawings, and a complete stained glass window. It also houses more than 2,200 printed works, including nearly all of Morris’s political pamphlets. Together the material reveals the full scope of Morris’s intellectual and artistic legacy.
The collaboration between The Huntington in San Marino and Morris & Co. in London began in 2022. It marks The Huntington’s first major design partnership.
This collaboration exemplifies The Huntington’s efforts to spark public engagement with our collections,” said Karen R. Lawrence, president of The Huntington. “By pulling inspiration from our historic archives, designers are not only honoring William Morris but also bringing his legacy to a new generation.”
Morris & Co. and The Huntington have attempted to produce the collection in accordance with Morris’s ethos of craftsmanship. All designs were completed in the Morris & Co. studio in Chiswick, London, then wallpapers and fabrics were printed in the brand’s historic U.K. factories.
It has been a privilege to bring these unfinished sketches to life,” said Lisa Montague, CEO of Sanderson Design Group. “Working closely with The Huntington’s experts, our team approached each design with the same meticulous care and craftsmanship that William Morris himself championed.”
Visitors can view The Unfinished Works collection in catalogs at the Huntington Store as well as on the Morris & Co. website.
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