Christopher Dresser
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Christopher Dresser (4 July 1834 – 24 November 1904) was a British
designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...
and design theorist, now widely known as one of the first and most important independent designers. He was a pivotal figure in the
Aesthetic Movement Aestheticism (also known as the aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century that valued the appearance of literature, music, fonts and the arts over their functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be produced to b ...
and a major contributor to the allied Anglo-Japanese or
Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It was the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of ...
, both of which originated in England and had long-lasting international influence.


Biography

Dresser was born in
Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, of a Yorkshire family. At age 13, he began attending the Government School of Design, Somerset House, London. From this early date his design work widened to include carpets, ceramics, furniture, glass, graphics, metalwork, including silver and electroplate, and textiles printed and woven. He claimed to have designed "as much as any man" at the International Exhibition London 1862. As early as 1865 the ''Building News'' reported that in the early part of his career he had been active as a designer of wallpapers, textiles and carpets, and the most active revolutioniser in the decorative art of the day. He wrote several books on design and ornament, including ''The Art of Decorative Design'' (1862), ''The Development of Ornamental Art in the International Exhibition'' (1862), and ''Principles of Design'' (1873), which was addressed in the preface to "working men". In 1899 ''The Studio ''magazine found it was possible to quote this book "page after page and not find a line, scarcely a word, that would not be endorsed by the most critical member of the Arts and Crafts Association today." In effect Dresser set the agenda adopted by the Arts and Crafts movement at a later date. In 1873 he was requested by the American Government to write a report on the design of household goods. En route for Japan in 1876 he delivered a series of three lectures in the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art and supervised the manufacture of wallpapers to his design for Wilson Fennimore. He was commissioned by Messrs Tiffany of New York to form a collection, whilst in Japan, of art objects both old and new that should illustrate the manufactures of that country. In 1876, the British Government appointed Dresser as an emissary to Japan and sent him to visit Japan after he became associated with Japanese art in 1862, and made a number of Japanese business associates such as Kiritsu Kosho Kaisha, in the years following. In four months in 1876–1877 Dresser travelled about 2000 miles in Japan, recording his impressions in '' Japan, its Architecture, Art and Art-Manufactures''. He represented the South Kensington Museum whilst in Japan, and was received at court by the Emperor, who ordered Dresser to be treated as a guest of the nation – all doors were open to him. He was requested by the Japanese Government to write a report on 'Trade with Europe'. His pioneering study of Japanese art is evident in much of his work which is considered typical of the
Anglo-Japanese style The Anglo-Japanese style developed in the United Kingdom through the Victorian era and early Edwardian era from approximately 1851 to the 1910s, when a new appreciation for Japanese aesthetics, Japanese design and Culture of Japan, culture influe ...
. From 1879 to 1882 Dresser was in partnership with Charles Holme (1848–1923) as Dresser & Holme, wholesale importers of Oriental goods, with a warehouse at 7 Farringdon Road, London. Between 1879 and 1882, as Art Superintendent at the Linthorpe Art Pottery in Linthorpe in
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
he designed over 1,000 pots. If his ceramic work from the 1860s onwards (for firms such as
Mintons Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...
,
Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...
, Royal Worcester, Watcombe, Linthorpe, Old Hall at
Hanley Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke- ...
and Ault) is considered, he must be amongst the most influential ceramic designers of any period. Much of his other work remains to be identified, although wallpaper designs for American, and textiles for French and German manufacturers have recently been located. A significant Dresser collection is held by the Dorman Museum in
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
. A
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
ed project draws attention to this. Some of Dresser’s metalwork designs are still in production, such as his oil and vinegar sets and toast rack designs, now manufactured by Alessi. Alberto Alessi goes so far as to say Dresser 'knew the techniques of metal production better than any designer who has come to Alessi'. One of his Old Hall designs is thought to have inspired
Alan Garner Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...
's 1967 novel '' The Owl Service''. Dresser died in
Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
in 1904, during a business trip in which he intended to sell designs to local industries. Bernard Jacqué, "The Death of Christopher Dresser in Mulhouse", Papers of the Symposium held jointly by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Decorative Arts Society 18 October 2004 (2005), pp. 97–102, The Decorative Arts Society
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Gallery

File:Toast Rack (England), designed 1881 (CH 18804417).jpg, Toast Rack (1881) File:Pitcher MET DP-13486-092.jpg, Pitcher (c. 1881) File:Bottle vase MET DP-1687-028 (cropped).jpg, Bottle vase for Linthorpe Art Pottery (c. 1882) File:Soup Tureen and Ladle LACMA M.2000.89.1a-c.jpg, Soup tureen and ladle (1888) File:Clutha pitcher.jpg, Clutha pitcher (c. 1895) File:Pitcher MET DP-13486-061.jpg, Pitcher File:Dish LACMA AC1999.182.3.jpg, Glass dish for Couper & Sons


Partial bibliography

* * * * * Development of Ornamental Art in the International Exhibition (1862) * General Principles of Art, Decorative and Pictorial, with hints on colour, its harmonies and contrasts (1868) * Principles of Decorative Design (1873) * Studies in Design (1875) * Japan, its Architecture, Art and Art-Manufactures (1882) * Modern Ornamentation (1886)


References


Further reading

* * * * Durant, Stuart. Christopher Dresser. 1993 * * * * Emil Fonfoneata, Exhibition Catalogue of Christopher Dresser (1834–1904) ''Pioneer of Modern Design'', 13 October 2007 – 13 January 2008 – Design Museum Gent – Belgium


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dresser, Christopher 1834 births 1904 deaths British botanical illustrators British industrial designers Businesspeople from Glasgow