Peony

Description

One of the most popular products of May Morris’s embroidery division were kits, which contained fabric marked with a design and the recommended embroidery thread. These kits allowed amateur embroiderers to have the satisfaction of making a beautiful object with their own hands. John Henry Dearle’s original drawing for Peony is annotated on the back by May Morris, who suggested the most appropriate use for the panel as part of a room divider screen.

Provenance

Haslam & Whiteway, London, by 2004; sold to John H. Bryan (1936-2018), Lake Bluff, IL, 5 Nov. 2004 [This and the following from Crab Tree Farm Foundation catalog records in curatorial file]; given to Crab Tree Farm Foundation, Lake Bluff, IL, 2012; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2018.

Peony

Morris & Co.

Design 1885–90, made 1905–17

Accession Number

249139

Medium

Cotton ground, silk threads

Dimensions

156.5 × 66.4 cm (61 5/8 × 26 1/8 in.)

Classification

embroidery

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Crab Tree Farm Foundation