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Lewis Foreman Day (29 January 1845 – 18 April 1910) was a British decorative artist and industrial designer and an important figure in the Arts and Crafts movement.


Biography

Day was born at
Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham town centre. It is managed by Southwark Council and consists of two contiguous areas, wi ...
, south London, on 29 January 1845. His father, Samuel, was a wine merchant. His mother was Mary Ann Lewis. He was educated in France, at
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Small things grow in harmony , established = , closed = , coordinates = , pushpin_map = , type = Independent day school , religion = Church o ...
and subsequently in Germany. He was first employed as a clerk, then, at the age to twenty he worked for the glass painters and designers Lavers, Barraud and Westlake. He moved to the stained glass makers of
Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...
, where he designed the cartoons. In 1870 he worked for Heaton, Butler and Bayne on the decoration of
Eaton Hall, Cheshire Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about . The fi ...
. He started his own business in London in 1870, expanding his activities beyond glass painting to a wide range of media including wallpapers for W. B. Simpson & Co., textiles for Turnbull & Stockdale, and tiles for Maw's and Pilkington's. He was an active member of the
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society was formed in London in 1887 to promote the exhibition of decorative arts alongside fine arts. The Society's exhibitions were held annually at the New Gallery (London), New Gallery from 1888 to 1890, and roug ...
, one time master of the
Art Workers Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...
, which he helped to found, and a member of the Council of the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
(RSA) for much of the period between 1877 and his death. He was an influential educator and wrote widely on design and pattern. His Cantor Lectures on Ornamental Design for the RSA (1886) led to a series of publications, including ''The Anatomy of Pattern'' (1887), ''The Planning of Ornament'' (1887), ''Pattern Design'' (1903), ''Ornament and its Application'' (1904), and ''Nature and Ornament'' (1908–9). He published in many journals, including the ''Magazine of Art'', the ''Art Journal'' and the ''Journal of Decorative Art''. Other books were ''Windows'' (1897), ''Stained Glass'' (1903), ''Alphabets Old and New'' (1898) and ''Lettering in Ornament'' (1902). He was an examiner for the
Department of Science and Art The Science and Art Department was a British government body which functioned from 1853 to 1899, promoting education in art, science, technology and design in Britain and Ireland. Background The Science and Art Department was created as a subdivis ...
and later the
Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
. He lectured at the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It off ...
(RCA). In 1910 he wrote a dissenting report to the government Committee of Inquiry into the RCA, in which he argued for greater emphasis on principles of design against the growing Arts and Crafts orthodoxy of teaching design by direct working in materials; in this he shared the Committee of Inquiry's reservations about the methods of the RCA's professor of design, W. R. Lethaby. He also made a critique of what he saw as un-businesslike Arts and Crafts attitudes in ''Moot Points'', a dialogue with his friend
Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...
. He served on the consultative committee of the Victoria and Albert Museum when it transferred to its new building in Cromwell Road in 1909, and influenced the arrangement its collections there. His own work is well represented in the museum's collection. His professional association with
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...
and other key figures of the Arts and Crafts movement, such as Crane and W. A. S. Benson, placed him at the centre of contemporary applied arts in Britain, yet, according to his biographer, Joan Maria Hanson, he became neglected in histories of the period.Joan Maria Hansen, ''Lewis Foreman Day (1845-1910): Unity in Design and Industry'', Antique Collector's Club, 2007 He married Ruth Emma Morrish In 1873. They had one child, Ruth. The family are buried together on the eastern side of
Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
.


Notes


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Lewis Foreman Arts and Crafts movement artists British artists 1845 births 1910 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Masters of the Art Worker's Guild