American Arts & Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts movement was a response to the Industrial Revolution. Originating in Britain, its adherents included A.W.N. Pugin (1812–52), John Ruskin (1819–1900), and William Morris (1834–96) who set out to reform the visual environment that had become, in their view, corrupted by the ugliness of machine production; factories produced poorly designed goods and destroyed the dignity of labor. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the ideas of the early reformers gradually spread to the United States where they were adopted and adapted by a wide variety of designers, artists, and architects. Their movement was guided by fundamental principles: an honest use of materials, inspiration from local resources and traditions, handcraftsmanship, design simplicity, and overall unity. Arts and Crafts designers set out to restore aesthetic integrity to all aspects of material life—common domestic products, complete interior spaces, and the architecture that housed them. The simple beauty of the objects in this gallery reflects the creative spirit of American potteries, furniture makers, metalworkers, and others who followed the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement.