Mary Greensted tells the story of the birth and development of the Arts and Craft movement in Britain with the help of numerous illustrations showing the buildings, furniture, metalwork, and the people who influenced it. The movement was concerned with the revival of traditional crafts, and a return to the vernacular, and it had socialist ideals at its heart. This movement, which flourished in the early twentieth century, has not only bequeathed us with a wealth of fine objects and buildings, but also a way of thinking about life and craft that continues to influence many today. Contains information on dozens of designers, artists, architects and thinkers, including: William Morris CFA Voysey Charles Rennie Mackintosh AH Mackmurdo CR Ashbee Ernest Gimson

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” This quote alone from William Morris could summarise the ideology of the Arts & Crafts movement, which triggered a veritable reform in the applied arts in England. Founded by John Ruskin, then put into practice by William Morris, the Arts & Crafts movement promoted revolutionary ideas in Victorian England. In the middle of the “soulless” Industrial Era, when objects were standardised, the Arts & Crafts movement proposed a return to the aesthetic at the core of production. The work of artisans and meticulous design thus became the heart of this new ideology, which influenced styles throughout the world, translating the essential ideas of Arts & Crafts into design, architecture and painting.

Illustrated with original photographs of Shipman's superb gardens - many by photographer Mattie Edwards Hewitt which have never been previously published - and new photographs by Carol Betsch which were specially commissioned for this volume, the book documents in fascinating detail the life and work of one of America's most important and influential garden designers.

This fresh look at the Arts and Crafts Movement charts its origins in reformist ideals, its engagement with commercial culture, and its ultimate place in everyday households.