Violet and Columbine (Navy)
1883 · Jacquard-woven double cloth, wool and mohair · The Cleveland Museum of Art
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About this work
- Artist
- William Morris (1834–1896)
- Year
- 1883
- Medium
- Jacquard-woven double cloth, wool and mohair
- Original size
- 122.6 × 180.7 cm
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Movement
- Arts and Crafts
In this colourway the design is woven with olive-gold leaves on navy and flowers in red, coral and rose, so it reads warmer and more formal than the green version. William Morris's Violet and Columbine of 1883 was woven on a Jacquard loom as a double cloth in wool and mohair. The Cleveland Museum of Art points out that the back of the cloth shows how it was made: light blue and green warp threads appear at the bottom, where long woven lengths could be cut at passages of loose thread. Morris preferred natural dyes to the chemical colours then standard, though they were scarce and costly, because they faded less and gave subtler tones. This length is in the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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
Red and gold flowers on navy give a warm, formal richness to a dining room, study or library wall. Pair it with Rose and Lily, Dearle's navy silk, at 16×24 in black.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Arts and Crafts pattern
- Era
- 19th century (1883)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- decorative, classic
- Rooms
- 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.
