Willow Bough

William Morris

1887 · Block-printed wallpaper, distemper colours on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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

This print

Willow Bough

Willow (Green on Cream)

Willow (Blue)

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

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: William Morris (1834–1896)
Year: 1887
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

Slender willow branches sway diagonally across a cream ground, thick with leaves in two greens on thin brown stems. William Morris designed Willow Bough in 1887 as a more naturalistic reworking of his earlier Willow pattern of 1874. The V&A notes that it was inspired by trees seen on country walks, and that Morris owned a copy of Gerard's Herball of 1597, which illustrates a willow branch; the willow was among his favourite motifs. Because the branches flow in continuous curves, the repeat is hard to find, the effect Morris argued for in his 1881 lecture Some Hints on Pattern Designing, where he urged designers to mask a pattern's construction so the eye cannot count its repeats. The paper was block-printed in distemper colours by Jeffrey & Co.; this sheet was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1923.

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

Where it works

Green willow leaves on cream read as calm and leafy, right for a bedroom, bathroom or a narrow hallway. It sits well beside Willow (Green on Cream), the 1874 original, at 16×24 in natural wood.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of an Arts and Crafts pattern
Era: 19th century (1887)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: decorative, classic
Rooms: bedroom, bathroom, hallway or entryway, dorm room

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 Willow Bough 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 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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 Willow Bough designed?

William Morris designed Willow Bough in 1887; this sample is block-printed wallpaper, distemper colours on paper.

What size should I choose?

For Willow Bough 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 Willow Bough — the whole wallpaper 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.

Also available as