Art What’s On
William and Evelyn De Morgan: ‘Two of the rarest spirits of the age’
Venue: Laing Art Gallery
Date: May 1st 2020 - Sep 26th 2020
Time: 14:00 - 17:00
Price: £8/£7.20/Family £16/Under 12s Free
Detail
Sir Edward Poynter, President of the Royal Academy, described William De Morgan and his wife Evelyn, also an artist, as ‘two of the rarest spirits of the age’. William De Morgan was undoubtedly the most intriguing and inventive ceramic designer of the late Victorian period. He was life-long friends with William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones and created stunning arts and crafts tiles and ceramics to complement their fashionable designs for interiors. William was the son of a mathematician and had a classical art training at the Royal Academy School. As a result, he always underpinned his elaborate designs with geometric structures, borrowed from medieval design and Islamic art. These complex influences on his art are explored in this exhibition.