An upcoming exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge aims to reposition Kate Faulkner as a designer, maker, and workshop supervisor at Morris & Co., rather than a footnote in William Morris’s history.
For more than a century, Faulkner’s contributions to British decorative art have been largely overlooked, with her work mistaken for his. Opening on 23 October, the exhibition A Call to Art: William Morris and the pre-Raphaelites highlights her work as the first person after Morris to design wallpapers and fabrics for the company, and one of only four designers he ever trusted to do so.
What You Need to Know About the Exhibition
- The exhibition runs until 3 May 2027, at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.
- It features a monumental 6.3 metre-wide oak and silvered-gesso altarpiece she was commissioned to make for Morris & Co in 1886, on public display for the first time.
- Curators are actively seeking descendants of Faulkner’s sister, Lucy Orrinsmith, to locate a photograph or portrait of Faulkner, as none is known to exist.
Uncovering the Work Behind Morris & Co.
Kate Faulkner’s career within the Arts and Crafts movement included designing patterns under her name for Morris & Co. in the 1870s and 1880s, several of which are still sold today, including her 1879 Mallow wallpaper. Beyond wallpapers, her portfolio included painted ceramics, decorative plates sold in the Morris & Co. shop, and tiles depicting Penelope, the heroine of Greek mythology, which is based on a design by Edward Burne-Jones.
New research led by Karen Livingstone, senior curatorial adviser to the exhibition and author of Women Pioneers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, sheds light on Faulkner’s presence at Red House in Bexleyheath. Besides creating patterns for textiles and wallpapers, painting tiles, and carving woodblocks for engravings, Faulkner also contributed to the design and creation of carpets and stitched figurative panels based on William Morris’s blueprints. Notably, research reveals that a design by Morris depicting the Greek goddess Artemis was embroidered by Faulkner for Red House, where the idea for Morris & Co was born in 1861.
The Ongoing Search for a Portrait of Kate Faulkner
Despite her international reputation for her work—which included selling designs to other wallpaper manufacturers—no known photograph or portrait of her exists today. Seeking to track down relatives of Faulkner’s sister, Lucy Orrinsmith—whose granddaughter, Lesley Janet Hitch (nee Simmons), passed away in 1995—Livingstone has reached out to the public for help. Recovering family archives remains the path toward identifying a likeness of the artist.
Running through 3 May 2027, the exhibition re-examines the broader inner circle of Morris, featuring works by Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, and May Morris. By bringing Faulkner’s 1886 altarpiece, early tile work, and drawing designs out of storage, the museum seeks to restore Faulkner to her rightful place in art history.
| Exhibition Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Venue | The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
| Exhibition Title | A Call to Art: William Morris and the pre-Raphaelites |
| Opening Date | 23 October |
| Closing Date | 3 May 2027 |
Whether further archival discoveries will surface to clarify which uncredited patterns belong to Faulkner remains to be seen as the exhibition opens its doors to the public.
