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Alexander Ionides, the Greek Consul-General in London commissioned Phillip Webb and William Morris to transform his magnificent house , No. 1 Holland Park (now the Greek Embassy) into a showpiece of the decorative talents of William Morris and his circle. In the photograph of the Marble Hall (from the Studio, 1897) a magnificent Morris and Co. carpet may be seen. Ionides and Morris had a shared interest in Middle Eastern design, and Morris and Co bought dyes used for dying carpets from Ionides & Co., the family;s textile firm. Ionides's son, Alexander Ionides, inherited the house, which was sold ten years later his widow to the trustees for the sixth Earl of Ilchester. After damage by incendiary bombs in World War II the property passed to London County Council in 1952. When the council decided to demolish what remained of the house in 1953 nothing of value was found in the interior. Of the original furnishings in the house, a piano designed by Burne-Jones, a Morris carp

When the Tampa Bay Hotel opened in 1891, hotel guests were reading Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, and George Eliot and talking about the latest paintings by James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent. They congregated on the veranda and in the Grand Salon to recite the poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson and chuckled with amusement at Oscar Wilde’s witticisms. These celebrities and their works were part of their lives. Today, Museum guests will laugh and gossip as they explore the world made relevant by these famous artists and writers. The Henry B. Plant Museum will soon present an exhibition that examines noted Victorians through portraits. Facing the Late Victorians: Portraits of Writers and Artists from the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection will provide the opportunity for visitors to come face to face with famous British poets, painters, novelists, playwrights and illustrators. The exhibit opens 5 March and continues through 5 June 2010. This exhibition will take audiences b

William Morris Society CALLS FOR PAPERS (updated) 2011 Modern Language Association Annual Convention 6-9 January 2011, Los Angeles, CA 1. " Morris and the Arts: Books, Painting, Crafts, Architecture " This is a regular session sponsored by the William Morris Society in the United States. We seek 15-minute papers which deal with William Morris and his close associates' work in, and connections to, the decorative and fine arts, crafts, architecture, printing/book arts, and architecture. Proposals to Florence S. Boos, florence-boos@uiowa.edu , by 20 March 2010. 2. " Pre-Raphaelite Uses of the Past " Proposed session co-sponsored by the William Morris Society in the United States and the Society for Arthurian Literature. This session would examine aspects of Victorian historicism, especially neo-medievalism in painting, book design, poetry, romance narrative, translation and other genres. Papers might consider ways in which the Pre-Raphaelites and their associates

The Huntington Library and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently announced the joint purchase of an iconic chair designed by Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851–1942). One of only five chairs known to exist, the piece is one of only two in the United States went on view in the Design Reform movement rooms of the Huntington Art Gallery in late November. After two years at the Huntington, it will shift to LACMA’s newly reinstalled galleries dedicated to the Arts and Crafts movement. Elaborately carved from mahogany with fluid tendrils forming the back, the chair is considered a key precursor of the Art Nouveau movement. “When this extremely significant piece of revolutionary design linking the social and aesthetic thinking of William Morris with European Art Nouveau became available, we knew we should try to bring it to public view in Southern California,” said John Murdoch, the Hannah and Russel Kully Director of Art Collections at the Huntington. “And the most sensible way to do th

The next upcoming events at Kelmscott House Museum, the home of the William Morris Society in the UK are: Saturday, 16 January, 2.15 p. m. Antiscrap: A Campaign for the William Morris Gallery The artist Roger Huddle, who was an organiser of the campaign against the running down and threatened closure of the Gallery, will talk about the campaign’s achievements and the latest developments. A short film will be shown. Sunday, 31 January, 7.00 p. m. Recital by Zadok Baroque Trio Unless otherwise stated events are at Kelmscott House starting at 2.15 p. m. Tickets: members and seniors £6; non-members £8; students and unemployed £4. All applications for tickets to William Morris Society office: Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London W6 9TA, marking the envelope "tickets" and enclosing a stamped addressed envelope. Please pay for visits with a separate check for each visit. For more information about any event please call the office on 020 8741 3735 or email william.morri

After many years of holding its conventions in late December, the Modern Language Association (MLA) has changed the time of its annual meeting to early January, and will meet next on 6–9 January 2011 in Los Angeles, CA. Changes in Allied Organization session procedures mean that the William Morris Society has only one confirmed 2011 session, on "Morris and the Arts: Books, Painting, Crafts, Architecture." Proposals for 15-minute papers for this session should be sent to Florence S. Boos by 20 March 2010. We also hope to co-sponsor a second session on "Pre-Raphaelite Audiences: Editors, Readers, Critics"; details for this will be announced on the Society's website after 1 February 2009.

UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE WINTERTHUR MUSEUM & COUNTRY ESTATE DELAWARE ART MUSEUM 7–9 October 2010 "Useful and Beautiful: The Transatlantic Arts of William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites" will be the subject of a conference and related exhibitions to be held 7–9 October 2010 at the University of Delaware (Newark, DE) and at the Delaware Art Museum and the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate (Wilmington, DE). Organized with the assistance of the William Morris Society, "Useful and Beautiful" will highlight the strengths of the University of Delaware's rare books, art, and manuscripts collections; Winterthur's important holdings in American decorative arts; and the Delaware Art Museum's superlative Pre-Raphaelite collection (the largest outside Britain). All events will focus on the multitude of transatlantic exchanges that involved Morris, the Pre-Raphaelites, and the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic movements of the late nineteenth century. We seek 250-