May Morris

Date of birth: 1862 — Date of death: 1938

Designer. Daughter of William Morris (1834-1896) and Jane Morris (1839-1914). Educated at Notting Hill High School and received an artistic education from her father. Morris studied Textile Arts at the South Kensington School of Art and Design (1880-1883) and is known for her needlework contribution to the Arts and Crafts movement. Morris was surrounded by artists, including members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, from an early age. In 1885 Morris was placed in charge of the embroidery section at Morris & Co. From 1897, Morris taught at the Central School for Arts and Crafts. She also occasionally taught at Birmingham School of Art. Morris exhibited her own work, which includes a cover for a copy of Love is Enough by William Morris and bound by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson (1889, Delaware Art Museum). Morris founded the Women's Guild of Arts in 1907. She edited The Collective Works of William Morris (1910-1915). In 1890, May Morris married Henry Halliday Sparling who she later divorced. Died of influenza.