Author Description

Published by Lund Humphries, in association with the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester, 1989 to accompany an exhibition of the same name. First Edition, 151pp., illustrated throughout in b/w plus eight full-color plates. Lenders list. A collection of essays by scholars on the designer and illustrator's work. From the rear cover: "When the artist-designer Walter Crane travelled abroad, often preceded by an exhibition of his own work, he was everywhere welcomed as a conquering hero. Feted by collectors in Germany and America, decorated by governments in Italy and Hungary, and universally acknowledged as a crucial influence on the international Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, Crane's importance and popularity were enormous. As a children's book illustrator he captured the hearts of generations of children and adults. As a two-dimensional pattern designer, his wallpapers and textiles achieved enormous sophistication and beauty, and there is much too to admire in his paintings, his interior decoration, ceramics and graphic design. Just as significantly, as an early proponent of socialism, his designs and cartoons also provided a visual language for a generation of banners, posters and leaflets associated with the Socialist movement. This book has been written by a team of scholars, under the editorship of Sarah Hyde and Greg Smith, to accompany a major loan exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. Together, they permit a reassessment of the achievements of a figure who through his designs, illustrations and paintings, influenced a whole generation of artists and designers in Britain, America and the Continent."