Blackthorn
1892 · Block-printed wallpaper, distemper colours on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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About this work
- Artist
- John Henry Dearle (1860–1932)
- Year
- 1892
- Medium
- Block-printed wallpaper, distemper colours on paper
- Original size
- 68.6 × 54.6 cm (sheet)
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Movement
- Arts and Crafts
Branches of tiny white blossom spread across a deep green ground, framing a symmetrical arrangement of blue violets, red snakeshead fritillaries, orange daisies and curling blue-green leaves. Blackthorn was issued in 1892 and is often credited to William Morris, but the Metropolitan Museum and the V&A attribute it to John Henry Dearle, with the Met recording that it was approved by Morris. Dearle had joined the firm in 1878 as a shop assistant, trained as Morris's tapestry apprentice and was its chief designer by 1890; for years his patterns were sold under Morris's name. The paper was block-printed in distemper colours by Jeffrey & Co. This sheet was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1923.
This print fills the sheet edge to edge with the pattern, cropped from a high-resolution museum scan of the original, so it reads like a panel of the wallpaper or fabric. The exhibition poster shows the whole sample. The design is in the public domain.
Where it works
White blossom, blue violets and red fritillaries on deep forest green give a rich, enclosed feel to a study, dining room or dark-walled bedroom. Pair it with Snakeshead, which shares its fritillaries, at 16×24 in black.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Arts and Crafts pattern
- Era
- 19th century (1892)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- decorative, classic
- Rooms
- bedroom, dining room, study or library
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the pattern, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Hangs alone or as a matched pair; three or more prints are 10% off.
