09/07/25
May Morris: Art & Advocacy
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth
5 April – 5 October 2025
May Morris’s obituary in the Times described her simply as “daughter of William Morris, the poet”, but she was so much more. Born Mary “May” Morris in 1862, she was the youngest daughter of William and his wife Jane (née Burden, lover and muse of Dante Gabriel Rossetti). Her upbringing was unconventional and bohemian. William and Rossetti – together with other friends – launched their business, later Morris & Co, at about the time of May’s birth, and she and her sister, Jenny, grew up surrounded by craftwork. They were home educated, and while Jane and their aunt worked on embroidery in the home studio, the children frequently stitched simple items such as pen-wipers and kettle-holders. May’s father also taught her to draw (and one of her sketchbooks is included in a vitrine in this exhibition). Her whole childhood was essentially an apprenticeship.
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