For more than a century, Kate Faulkner’s contributions to British decorative art have largely been overshadowed by William Morris, with many of her designs mistakenly attributed to him. However, new research and an upcoming exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge aim to reestablish Faulkner’s reputation as a pioneering artist and designer in her own right.
Faulkner was the first person after Morris to design wallpapers and fabrics for Morris & Co, one of only four designers he ever entrusted with this role. Her work for the company in the 1870s and 1880s, including patterns that continue to be sold today, played a significant part in establishing Morris as a household name. Despite her considerable influence, Faulkner’s legacy has remained largely unrecognized since her death in 1898, and no known photograph or portrait of her exists.
The exhibition, titled *A Call to Art: William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites*, opens on 23 October and runs until May 2027. It will feature, for the first time, a monumental 6.3-metre-wide oak and silvered-gesso altarpiece Faulkner was commissioned to create in 1886, alongside her wallpaper and textile designs. Other highlights include a tile depicting Penelope, based on a design by Edward Burne-Jones, and painted ceramics such as decorative plates sold at Morris & Co.
Karen Livingstone, senior curatorial adviser to the exhibition and author of *Women Pioneers of the Arts and Crafts Movement*, emphasized that Faulkner was not merely working in Morris’s shadow but was a central creative force behind many of the company’s successes. Livingstone noted that Faulkner’s contributions spanned a range of media, including embroidery, woodblock cutting, tile painting, textile pattern design, and carpet production.
New research has also shed light on Faulkner’s involvement in the early days of Morris & Co. Evidence shows she embroidered a William Morris design of the Greek goddess Artemis for Red House, Morris’s Arts and Crafts villa in Bexleyheath, where Morris and his circle first conceived the idea for their interiors company in 1861. Livingstone suggests Faulkner was likely involved in the important discussions surrounding the founding of Morris & Co, alongside Morris, his family, and other artists in his circle, including Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, and May Morris.
Faulkner’s family connections to Morris & Co were further strengthened through her brother Charles, one of the company’s co-founders. Despite her international reputation during her lifetime and the continued popularity of some of her designs among other wallpaper manufacturers, much of her work remains unattributed or incorrectly credited to Morris.
Livingstone is currently seeking assistance from the public to trace the descendants of Faulkner’s sister, Lucy Orrinsmith, in hopes of uncovering a photograph or portrait of Faulkner to complement the exhibition’s efforts to expand understanding of her legacy.
The exhibition not only reexamines Morris’s legacy but also seeks to highlight the crucial roles played by women within his artistic circle, including Jane Morris, Bessie Burden, and May Morris, who were influential in areas such as embroidery and management within Morris & Co. Through this broader lens, Faulkner’s place in the Arts and Crafts Movement is being restored as that of an innovator and key artist, whose contributions were vital to the commercial and artistic achievements of William Morris and his company.