William Morris and "The Beauty of Life"

"The Beauty of Life": William Morris and the Art of Design was a wonderful exhibit  at the Yale Center for British Art a few years ago. They had an amazing selection of drawings, paintings, fabric and wall paper.  The most interesting thing about the exhibit was that many of the most beautiful designs were actually created by the chief designer J H Dearle, rather than by Morris himself.  I had never heard of J H Dearle before that.  Later I found some more images of his creations.  The colors and patterns are just stunning.  I believe some of these patterns are available commercially through  Morris & Co.

The next few images are unfinished sketches of the designs.  It's fascinating to see the creative process in work.  It's really interesting to see how the design pattern is sketched out and then color is added.  I also love the little notes on the side of the sketches.