Developed in partnership with Dr Ilaria Puri-Purini, Pioneers: William Morris and the Bauhaus was the first exhibition in the UK to fully explore the relationship between the English Arts and Crafts movement and the Bauhaus, the ground-breaking German art school established by Walter Gropius.
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Timed to coincide with the centenary of the founding of the Bauhaus in 1919, it brought together over 60 objects from nine international and domestic lenders, some of which had never been displayed in the UK before.
The exhibition used Morris’s key principles of Unity, Craft, Simplicity and Community as a lens to explore the early years of the Bauhaus, from its establishment as a radical new school in the conservative city of Weimar, to its move to a purpose-built campus in Dessau. Along the way, the Bauhauslers embraced a diverse range of ideas and aesthetics as they adopted and adapted the messages of the Arts and Crafts movement in their quest to design a better world. In showing objects made at the Bauhaus alongside Morris’s own pioneering designs, the exhibition invited visitors to explore alternative perspectives on the Bauhaus, as well as see Morris’s legacy in a new light.
Alongside the exhibition was a display of three pieces by acclaimed London-based fashion designer Mary Katrantzou, who lent garments from her Autumn/Winter 2018 collection, which combined Bauhaus prints with patterns inspired by William Morris. There was also an outdoor installation by Bauhaus Artist in Residence, Nicholas Pankhurst.
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The exhibition was held at the William Morris Gallery from October 2019 to January 2020. It was funded through Art Happens, the Art Fund's crowdfunding platform.
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Exhibition design by Simon Milthorp and Fernando Lai Couto, build by Odel Jeffries.