May's Tulip Joanna

May Morris, the daughter of celebrated Arts & Crafts figurehead, poet and design icon William Morris, inherited not only her father’s business and some of his status, but was a highly skilled protagonist of the Arts & Crafts movement herself. Born in 1862 in Red House in south London, the Morris family home and historical centrepiece of William’s design and architectural legacy, May became best known for her work in embroidery and jewellery. In 1907 she jointly founded the Women’s Guild of Arts which championed professional female artists and creatives, at a time when industry only officially recognised male endeavour. The trailing ‘May’s Tulip’ design is inspired by a beautiful set of late-19th-century weaves showing sprawling tulips, lovingly set into panels as a room divider. This wallpaper depicts a flowing network of intertwining vines and curling stems interspersed with stylised flowers and emerging buds creating a rhythm and harmonious pattern.