May Morris

Decorative Needlework (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press) May Morris Illustrated edition

Mary "May" Morris (1862-1938) was an English artisan, embroidery designer, socialist, and editor. May learned to embroider from her mother and her aunt Bessie Burden, who had been taught by Mary's father William Morris (1834-1896). In 1881, she enrolled at the National Art Training School, the precursor of the Royal College of Art, to study embroidery. In 1885, aged 23, she became the director of the embroidery department at her father's enterprise Morris & Co.. She edited her father's Collected Works in 24 volumes for Longmans, Green and Company, published from 1910 to 1915. May Morris was an influential embroideress and designer, although her contributions are often overshadowed by those of her father, a towering figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. Morris himself is credited with the resurrection of freeform embroidery in the style which would be termed art needlework. May Morris was active in the Royal School of Art Needlework (now Royal School of Needlework), founded as a charity in 1872 under the patronage of Princess Helena to maintain and develop the art of needlework through structured apprenticeships.