Description
A leading figure in the British Arts and Crafts movement, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (1857-1941) could easily have made a career out of pattern design alone, for his ingenious textiles and wall coverings in fresh, clear colors won him international acclaim. By the mid-1890s, however, he also was hailed as one of Britain”s most innovative architects.
Like other Arts and Crafts practitioners, Voysey believed that no aspect of a house was too small to merit the architect’s attention. Even by this standard his versatility was astonishing, encompassing all manner of furniture, cabinetry, fixtures, and floor and wall coverings. Behind literally every one of these elements—from the shape of a clothes hook to the sweep of a roofline—lay a strong and unorthodox spiritual philosophy that often set Voysey at odds with others in his profession, even as he rose to become a leading force among the architects and designers of his time.
In C.F.A. Voysey: Architect, Designer, Individualist, Anne Stewart O’Donnell traces Voysey’s extraordinary creative output through his professional career. More than sixty-five full-color architectural and design drawings and historical black-and-white photographs illuminate the individualism of this singular artist. This book profiles Voysey’s entire body of work, from his architectural designs for cottage houses to his interior designs for furniture, metalwork, wall coverings, and textiles.
