The William Morris Society in the United States (WMS-US) is sponsoring a session at the CAA conference in Chicago, February 18–21, 2026.
You are warmly invited to submit a proposal for the session, which is titled “The Materiality of Text in Nineteenth-Century Art” and co-chaired by Giovanna Guzzi-Rossetti, Anglia Ruskin University, and Lulu Ao, Loughborough University.
Proposals are submitted through the conference website. Submissions must be received by August 29, 2025. Further information can be found here.
Please find the session call for papers below.
The Materiality of Text in Nineteenth-Century Art
In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of written text in visual art. This session investigates how artists explored the aesthetics of text in a wide range of media during the nineteenth century. It invites proposals for historical, material, technical, and theoretical analyses of text in the period.
Papers focusing on any geographical region are welcome. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: the use of text by William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites in tapestries, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, paintings, and/or frames; the impact of typeface design on the semantics of language and its relationship to illustrations; and the role of typography in artistic networks.
We invite contributions from art historians, artists, typographers, and other practitioners in the field. Interdisciplinary and collaborative proposals are encouraged. Proposals that explore new methodological approaches to the materiality of text are particularly welcome.
Note: Financial support may be available from the William Morris Society in the United States for a speaker without institutional funding. If you would like to be considered for funding, please notify the session chairs when you submit your paper proposal.