About William De Morgan (1839 – 1917)

William Frend De Morgan was the most important and innovative potter of the 19th century. His distinctive style and glorious lustre’s are instantly recognisable. He met William Morris in 1863 when he was 24 and they became life long friends.

He was a central figure in the Arts and Craft Movement. William De Morgan gave up his fine arts training and started designing stained glass for Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. Between 1863 and 1872 De Morgan designed stain glass, tiles and painted furniture for ‘the firm’ and experimented with lustre’s and glazes in the basement of his Fitzroy Square home in London.

Through Morris, William De Morgan was exposed to the multi-disciplinary ethic that characterised the Arts and Crafts Movement where he mastered all aspects of his trade. His fame spread and in 1879 he received a commission to supply tiles to match the deep blue tiles used in the Arab Hall for Lord Leighton at Leighton House.

In 1882 De Morgan moved to Merton Abbey on the River Wandle close to Morris’s works and the Liberty silk dying works. Other commissions include the Tsar of Russia’s Yacht, many exotic P&O liners and Lord Debenham’s home at 8 Addison Road, London.