Ms Catherine Sidwell

Research project: The representation of birds in society, culture and decorative domestic designs (1851-1914), with special reference to the work of C.F.A. Voysey

Abstract

This design history thesis addresses the importance of the natural world - especially birds - to British society, culture and decorative design 1851-1914. During urbanisation in the late nineteenth century, society experienced a deep interest in, and nostalgia for nature which was demonstrated through economic, scientific and artistic endeavours. Just as birds were being collected, classified and displayed in private collections or public museums as specimens, they were also valued as commodities and worn as fashion accessories. Nature was represented in the late Victorian and Edwardian home in many ways: through the presence of live pets, collections and taxidermy displays. As well as being a source of inspiration in the wider arts, birds were increasingly illustrated in publications and print materials. They were also represented in the decoration of the English domestic interior. Designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement in England, such as William Morris, Walter Crane, William De Morgan and C.F.A. Voysey, responded to their age by representing birds in their decorative designs for the home - looking to nature to provide an alternative to copying historicist motifs and patterns. Voysey delighted in depicting birds and he represented them in his designs more than any of his predecessors and contemporaries in England. His designs were produced as wallpapers, textiles, furniture, metalwork, ceramics and as graphic designs. For Voysey, a religious man, nature had a special significance: it was the work of The Creator. This thesis positions Voysey within the culture of his own time and relates his work to that of his predecessors and contemporaries. It suggests that, while he owed much to them, his work was also highly individualistic and that his representations of birds enabled him to convey his spirituality, religious morality, and worldview to others.