The Gallery is proud to present a special exhibition by Hampshire Cultural Trust.
William Morris longed to have a home with ‘green trees and flowering meadows and living waters outside’. In his patterns, his poems and his radical household, he explored ‘the promise of the harvest and the joy of life’.
This new exhibition shows how William’s love of gardens and green spaces was shared by his wife Jane and daughter May. It brings into focus the art and writings made by the women and men who gathered at the Morris homes, where gardens were transformed into creative and pleasurable spaces. Honeysuckle, strawberries, apples, willow boughs and roses, these are recurring themes in their designs. Riverbanks and tangled woodlands were also woven into William Morris’s landscapes of the imagination.
From embroidery to wallpaper, decorated books to oil paintings, the exhibition gathers works from the earliest days of Jane and William’s marriage. It will also feature works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and John Ruskin, as well as designs by May Morris which are on public display for the first time. Together, these will show how the visionary art of the Morris family can still encourage us to ‘love the narrow spot that surrounds our daily life’.
The exhibition is guest curated by Suzanne Fagence Cooper, a specialist in 19th & 20th century art and design, and drawn from a small number of institutions: Kelmscott Manor/Society of Antiquaries, the William Morris Society, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.
Sound Piece
The Sounds of Kelmscott Manor, by Boris Allenou, 2025
For this exhibition, a special recording of the sounds of the countryside at the Morris family's summer house in Oxfordshire has been made. Sound artist, Boris Allenou, considers sound as a dynamic social ecosystem, using interactive installations, workshops, and music compositions to engage audiences in re-imagining their sense of place, cultural identities, and relationships, while exploring the roles and meanings of sound within our society. Find about more: https://borisallenou.com/
Images: Blanzifiore (Snowdrops), Dante Gabriel Rossetti © Private Collection.
Orchard Bed Curtain, May Morris. Society of Antiquaries of London (Kelmscott Manor) © Society of Antiquaries of London (Kelmscott Manor)/V&A.
A Book of Verse (title page), William Morris © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Event: Saturday 15 November 2025 - Wednesday 4 February 2026
Opening Times: Mon- Sat 9:30 - 5pm
Sun - 11 - 5pm
Last admission to Gallery at 4:30 pm daily
Tickets;
Adult - £5.45, Concession - £4.50, Child - £4.00
Adult w/Gift Aid - £6.00, Concession w/Gift Aid - £5.00, Child w/Gift Aid - £4.50
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