Two More Events, Including One This Week!

This Thursday evening, Andrew Pruss will be giving a talk about three Eden Smith libraries in Toronto... in June we have our Morris/Ruskin symposium, and in July we'll have another book discussion/picnic... all the details can be found on our Future Events tab at the top of this page.

There are more plans in the works, and - remember - members get priority booking on trips and other limited-capacity events. But all our current future events are open to all, so we hope to see you there!

The Fall so Far

What a long and beautiful fall it has been, and there are still many leaves on the trees, mainly just the yellow ones left now.

The annual WMSC fall weekend trip was another highly enjoyable success, timed to coincide with the height of the fall colours (October 15/16), and this year the visit was to Collingwood.

And last week William Whitla presented an excellent introduction to Morris, "The Life and Work of William Morris" in Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium at the central Toronto Reference Library. JUST when you thought you knew a lot about Morris, Bill illuminated us still further in a most uplifting and informative illustrated presentation.

The WMSC will pause to celebrate the season at our annual dinner, and then please watch our Future Events tab at the top for some exciting events in the new year!

Below: the first four images are from the Collingwood tour, the first three taken by WMSC president Susan Pekilis. The top picture is Claverleigh, built 1871, now a national historic site near Creemore. The second and third pictures are the federal building in Collingwood, built 1914. And the fourth picture is by member Ria Harvey, showing some trip attendees against some lovely fall trees.

The bottom two images are from William Whitla's talk at the Toronto Reference Library, taken by WMSC board member Gianna Wichelow.

Fall for Morris!

We have it on good authority that fall is not far off, and in keeping with the shortening days and lengthening nights, the WMSC has got a great line up over three evenings.

Check out our FUTURE EVENTS tab above to find out more.

Our Annual General Meeting takes place on Tuesday, September 20 at the Textile Museum of Canada. The short meeting will be followed by an illustrated lecture, "1881: A Year in Morris" presented by John Wichelow. Last year John presented a similar lecture on 1876. It was a very successful format and that's why we're repeating it. Morris has many highly productive and interesting years in his busy, brilliant life.

Over the weekend of October 15/16 we are running the Collingwood Heritage Tour, another in our series of highly popular weekend excursions, this time to the southern shore of Georgian Bay, where we will explore the area’s history and architecture! As in previous fall excursions, transport will be by luxury coach, and the costs include all meals and overnight accommodation at the Cranberry Resort. These will be two fun, packed days with visits to galleries, musuems, craft studios and a number of architectural treasures from grand homes to a log cabin and even a jail!

On Tuesday, November 1, join us for an illustrated lecture by Professor William Whitla, titled "The Life and Work of William Morris." This is a great way to introduce newbies to the wonderful Morris, so please share this information widely! This lecture is jointly sponsored by the Toronto Reference Library and takes place in the Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium.


Image: Portrait of William Morris by George Frederic Watts

Some Arts and Crafts Delights During a Visit to Italy. Part 1 of 2: Florence

WMSC member Gianna Wichelow spent June in Florence and Rome... and on her travels found a few exciting spots that she recommends for future trips if you're an admirer of Morris and his circle. Here are a few photographs:

St. Mark's English Church, Florence, was founded by the Reverend Charles Tooth, and its current site (a 15th-century palazzo) was purchased in 1880. John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, a second-wave Pre-Raphaelite and uncle/teacher to Evelyn de Morgan, designed and created the wall and ceiling decorations at his own expense, with stencil designs by George Frederick Bodley. The church was active by 1881, and the premises were enlarged by the purchase of the site next door. The striking paintings inside the church are by mostly unidentified Italian artists. William Holman Hunt lost his young wife in Florence, where she is buried. He set her wedding ring into the stem of a chalice he designed for the church. The terrible flooding of the Arno in 1966 damaged the lower part of the stencilled walls, now covered up.

Stanhope had close connections to Edward Burne-Jones and George Frederic Watts. And his home, Sandroyd, was designed by Philip Webb, whose only previous house design up to that point had been William Morris's Red House.

The church remains very active and is a warm and welcoming place, featuring opera performances and lots of visiting choirs. But whatever your interest, I urge you to visit it if you're in Florence.

The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum has a stunning exhibition on, "Tra Arte e Moda," which explores the links and inspirations between art and fashion, artists and designers. This is an outstanding collection of ideas and objects, and one of the display cases featured examples of esthetic dress. Photographs of Jane Morris, William's wife, were taken by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (and others) to inspire his paintings, and those paintings helped inspire a new, looser form of dress which Liberty helped popularize.

Details of This Year's Symposium!

William Morris and the Natural World will take place on Saturday, June 25. This all-day event will include lunch, and the opportunity to book for the following day's Wychwood Park garden tour and tea. All the details, including cost and how to register, can be found by clicking our Future Events tab (above).

Also, save the date for October 15/16 of this year, as the WMSC is organizing another of our very popular weekend bus tours, this time to Collingwood!

In the meantime, have a wonderful summer!

Kelmscott Manor. Watercolor, ca. 1905, by Marie Spartali Stillman [Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, on loan to the University of Delaware Library] 

Of Interest

Keep up to date with what's happening of interest to admirers of William Morris by following our Of Interest page (see tab above). There's a lot happening around the world, in Japan, the U.K., U.S. and here in Canada.

And if we've missed something, please let us know!

Left: Photo of May Morris

News From Nowhere is Feted in Style

The Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium at the Toronto Reference Library was packed last night for William Whitla's talk on William Morris's News From Nowhere, on the 125th anniversary of its publication. Bill was as witty and erudite as ever, leaving some of us needing to re-read the book again, to absorb the element he had illuminated for us. Afterwards, a large part of the audience went to the Pilot Tavern where food and drink were consumed, and the conversation continued for hours. I think Morris would have approved!

Keep up to date on our future events by clicking on the tab above!

Vote for Kelmscott!

Vote for Kelmscott Manor, William Morris's one-time Cotswolds home, to be named the UK's most inspiring museum or heritage visitor attraction of the last 12 months.

All the details are here, and the link to vote!