Subversive Stitching: May Morris and Embroidery

The William Morris Society in the United States invites you to join us for a Zoom talk by Dr. Anna Wager, art historian and curator (Hobart & William Smith Colleges). In this presentation, Dr. Wager will explore the work of May Morris (1862-1938), an accomplished designer, embroiderer, public speaker, writer, educator, advocate for social causes, and founder of the Women’s Guild of Arts. Morris’s legacy is tied to her father, William Morris, and his role as the leader of the British Arts and Crafts movement. Recent scholarship and exhibitions have excavated Morris’s embroidery designs, objects, writings, and her influence on artistic communities. This talk will focus on the objects of her creation, and how her works fits into a broader nineteenth-century history of stitching and revolutionary action.

Anna Wager is the Clarence A. Davis Visual Arts Curator at Hobart & William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. She directs the exhibition spaces on campus and manages the permanent collection. She also teaches courses related to cataloging, curatorial writing, exhibition design, and the history of museums, through the lens of 19th- and early 20th-century English and American art and material culture. She holds a PhD in art history from the University of Washington, and is a member of the William Morris Society in the United States board.

5:30 – 6:30pm Eastern, 2:30 – 3:30pm Pacific