William Morris and his circle

William Morris considered it impossible for an artist to exist outside the context of a community and surrounded himself with writers, textile designers and furniture makers. The firm, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was founded in 1861 with Ford Madox Brown, Edward Burne Jones and Philip Spekman Webb. The architect Webb would later build Morris's first home, Red House, which became a hub of artistic and intellectual endeavor. As the circle encompassed broad artistic practices, women were a visible part of the group and Morris collaborated extensively with his wife, Jane, who brought his designs to life through embroidery. Morris did 'not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few' and his artistic output was intrinsically linked to his socialist beliefs. His circle included those in the political arena, such as Social Democratic Federation Founder Henry Mayers Hyndman. In order to revive the arts swept away by the Industrial Revolution, they designed domestic objects and larger scale public commissions.