African Marigold

William Morris

1876 · Printed cotton · Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: William Morris (1834–1896)
Year: 1876
Medium: Printed cotton
Original size: 66.4 × 98.5 cm (piece a)
Collection: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Movement: Arts and Crafts

Interlacing leafy branches form great circles around large open flowers and smaller rosettes, printed in a single blue on off-white cotton, the leaves streaked with fine lines. William Morris designed African Marigold in 1876, and it was registered on 7 October that year. It was first printed for him by Thomas Wardle at Leek, the Staffordshire dyer with whom Morris had experimented with natural dyes in 1875. Morris grew frustrated with the uneven results, writing critically to Wardle in early 1881, and later that year he took dyeing and printing into his own hands at Merton Abbey. The pattern shares its subject, but not its drawing, with his Marigold wallpaper of 1875. This sample, two pieces of printed cotton, is in the Cooper Hewitt.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole sample beneath original typography set in-house. The design is in the public domain.

Where it works

A single blue on off-white, with circling leaves and open flowers, suits a blue-and-white kitchen, bathroom or cottage bedroom. Pair it with Marigold, the wallpaper on the same flower, at 16×24 in natural wood.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of an Arts and Crafts pattern
Era: 19th century (1876)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: butter yellow, cream & beige
Mood: decorative, classic
Rooms: bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, dorm room, hallway or entryway

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Hangs alone or as a matched pair; three or more prints are 10% off.

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole design, or a crop?

The whole sample, uncropped, set above exhibition typography designed in-house. For the pattern edge to edge, choose the full-bleed print.

Is African Marigold in the public domain?

Yes. William Morris (1834–1896) died more than 70 years ago and the design dates from before 1931, so it is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of an original held by Cooper Hewitt.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was African Marigold designed?

William Morris designed African Marigold in 1876; this sample is printed cotton.

What size should I choose?

For African Marigold we'd choose 16×24. Patterns also hang well as a pair or a row of three colourways at the same size.

About this design

An exhibition poster of William Morris's African Marigold — the whole printed textile sample shown uncropped beneath gallery typography, styled as an Arts and Crafts exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

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