On the 1891 census, May Morris described herself as ‘artist, designer, embroiderer and employer,” a self-assessment which belies the range of her contribution to the cultural enrichment of the two centuries over which her life spanned. An early champion of socialism and a model for the rising feminist movement, Morris’s creative legacy extended to weaving, painting, and jewelry making. In addition to art-making, she actively preached the Arts & Crafts gospel as a teacher and lecturer in the United Kingdom and America. Her 1909-10 lecture tour of the United States included a stop at Glessner House where she spoke to Frances Glessner’s Reading Class on “Design in Costume.”

This online presentation was given by Margaretta S Frederick, the Annette Woolard-Provine Curator of the Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art at the Delaware Art Museum. Dr. Frederick has been integral to the Museum’s Bancroft Collection for over twenty years, focusing on women within the Pre-Raphaelite circle.