Art and labor: Ruskin, Morris, and the craftsman ideal in America

by Eileen Boris

This book is a historical inquiry into the dependence of art on labor, that is, into the social and economic forces of production through which creativity develops. "The craftsman ideal," based on the example of the English art critic John Ruskin and his disciple William Morris, was a reaction against industrialization, urbanization, modernization.

Genres: Crafts, Art

261 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Dharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

good information heavily focused on Ruskin & Morris’ influence on American craft. Sentence structure was long winded, and often felt names and organizations were thrown into sentences without context. Very academic writing & sometimes repetitive.

[Kingsborough Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. This book showed me a specific thread of American utopianism that I was only vaguely aware of.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not realized the effect of Morris and Ruskin on both the American arts and crafts movement and on communal movements: Hull House, settlement schools, Rookwood Pottery, and Tiffany Glass. For me, the most interesting chapter was "The Communal Impulse: Back to the Land with Arts and Crafts." She discusses the New Clairvaux, established by the Rev. Edward Pearson Pressey in Montague, MA. 1902-1908, as well as Fellowship Farms in Westwood, MA; the Rose Valley Association in Moylan, PA; and Beaux Arts Village on Puget Sound. Byrdcliffe in the Catskills was founded 1903 by Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, near Woodstock.