Skip to main content Skip to Search Box
Definition: Arts and Crafts from Collins English Dictionary

pl n

1 decorative handicraft and design, esp that of the Arts and Crafts movement, in late nineteenth-century Britain, which sought to revive medieval craftsmanship

arts and crafts

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. The chief influence behind this movement was William Morris . By the mid-19th cent., factory processes had almost entirely driven artisans from their ancient trades and threatened to obliterate the techniques they used to produce beautiful objects of utility. The Gothic revival , however, had brought into existence a great body of knowledge concerning the arts of the Middle Ages, and Morris, together with the Pre-Raphaelite painters and a small group of architects and designers, returned to these arts as a rich source of inspiration. The pupils and followers of Morris multiplied, and proficient artisans developed. Their methods aimed at a practical demonstration not only of Morris's aesthetic creed but also of his ideas concerning socialism and the moral…
18,839 results

Full text Article Arts and Crafts

From The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900
Is a term primarily used to describe the English movement led by John Ruskin, William Morris and C. R. ASHBEE , although similar groups existed in most European countries and the USA. It was in its prime from 1888 to c. 1910 and was directly or indirectly influential throughout the 20th century. The…
| 987 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Arts and Crafts Movement

From Encyclopedia of American Studies
Music cabinet, c. 1910–12. Gustav Stickley,...
... …
| 2,036 words , 7 images

Full text Article ARTS AND CRAFTS

From The Edinburgh Dictionary of Modernism
The Arts and Crafts movement originated in Britain in the second half of the nineteenth century in response to the art and social criticism of John Ruskin and William Morris, both of whom condemned the perceived vulgarity of Victorian taste and the working conditions created by MACHINE production, …
| 309 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Arts and Crafts Style

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
The Arts and Crafts movement covers a period from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. It includes a wide-ranging variety of arts and crafts, and British and US artists, designers, and craftspeople. What they had in common was a desire to promote the decorative arts and increase…
| 994 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Arts and Crafts movement

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
An English room decorated by William Morris in...
English social and aesthetic movement of the second half of the 19th century, dedicated to reestablishing the importance of craftsmanship in an era of mechanization and mass production. The name derives from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society (1888). Inspired by John Ruskin and other writers who…
| 157 words , 1 image
Key concepts:
The Arts and Crafts Movement, which aimed to revive quality craftsmanship in the face of industrial mass production - and as such was as much a social as an artistic movement - was born in Britain during the 1860s, and spanned the period from the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901) to…
| 711 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article ARTS AND CRAFTS

From The Dictionary of Alternatives
An English reformist movement primarily inspired by the ideas of John RUSKIN and William Morris (see NEWS FROM NOWHERE ). At its peak between 1880 and 1910, the aesthetic principles of Arts and Crafts influenced architecture, textiles, garden design, interior decoration, pottery, printing, and many…
| 431 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Indian Arts and Crafts Board

From Encyclopedia of the American Indian in the Twentieth Century
Choctaw girls in a spinning and weaving class at...
Established by Congress in 1935 “to promote the economic welfare of the Indian Tribes and the Indian wards of the government through the development of Indian arts and crafts and the expansion of the market for the products of Indians arts and craftsmanship,” the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) …
| 1,040 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article arts and crafts

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. The chief influence behind this movement was William Morris . By…
| 339 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Arts and Crafts Movement

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
English social and aesthetic movement of the late 19th century that stressed the importance of manual skills and the dignity of labour. It expressed a rejection of Victorian industrialization and mass production, and a nostalgic desire to return to a medieval way of life. The movement influenced art…
| 306 words
Key concepts:
Mind Map

Stack overflow
More Library Resources