Permission of  Art Institute of Chicago

Attributed to George Prentiss Kendrick (1850–1919); Decoration attributed to Eva Russell (American, active c. 1905); Grueby Faience Company (1894–1909). Vase, 1903/09. Boston, Massachusetts. Glazed earthenware. The Art Institute of Chicago, restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society; through prior acquisition of the B.F. Ferguson Fund; Skinner Sales Proceeds Fund; Wesley M. Dixon, Jr., and Roger and J. Peter McCormick endowments; through prior acquisition of the Antiquarian Society; The Goodman Fund; Simeon B. Williams, Harriet A. Fox, and Mrs. Wendell Fentress Ott funds; Highland Park Community Associates; Charles R. and Janice Feldstein Endowment Fund for Decorative Arts.

The exhibit, “Apostles of Beauty:  Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago”  recently closed at the Art Institute of Chicago.  The show focused on the development of English artist William Morris and The Arts and Crafts movement which began in Victorian England, the cradle of industrialization.  The movement ran counter to industrialization and focused on the handmade object, and the ability of a beautiful and well designed environment to provide moral uplift. The movement was both a philosophy and a style that permeated domestic interior, including decorative art and furniture, painting and textiles. The movement had special resonance in Chicago, one of the most industrial of American cities at the turn of the 20th century