DOI Artikel:
Warner, Horace: Wallpaper designers and their work
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41879#0179
WALLPAPER DESIGNERS AND THEIR
WORK. BY HORACE WARNER
IN this brief survey of the work of some of the leading designers ot
wallpapers it will be necessary to refer to designs which have ap-
peared in the pages of this Year Book during the last ten years.
The wallpapers reproduced at the end of this article are intended
to supplement those which have been illustrated in previous issues ;
they do not purport to afford an exhaustive review of all the excellent
designs which have come under our notice.
Looking over the wallpapers produced during the period just mentioned
one cannot fail to be impressed by the soundness of the majority of the
designs, and by the number of well-known artists who have devoted
themselves to the creation of patterns that take their proper place upon
the walls of our homes. Amongst the numerous designs which are
issued each year there is, of course, a quantity of indifferent work, and
often bad copies of a master-hand are to be found. In the general book
of patterns, which is a commercial necessity, we are often disappointed,
and turn away with an antipathy for wallpapers altogether, finally de-
ciding to have plain walls ; for there is so much in the home—pictures,
china, etc.—that demands a reposeful background. I maintain, how-
ever, that while dead wall surfaces maybe desirable under certain condi-
tions, to adopt them as a general practice shows weakness, and is merely
overcoming a difficulty by following the line of least resistance. It also
reveals a lack of appreciation of the admirable work which has been
done, and is being done, by many able designers.
The use of a pattern as a background does not necessarily mean that the
wallpaper is going to assert itself unduly. The designs illustrated here,
and in former issues of this publication, have been selected primarily as
patterns and not on account of their colourings; but amongst the various
colour-treatments arranged by the manufacturers one can almost in-
variably find renderings which give merely a toned wall effect, to suit
those who desire a quiet background.
In comparing the works of the leading British designers of wallpapers
with those of the Continent, it seems to me that the former are sounder
in construction and show a greater appreciation of the value of good
drawing and a stronger feeling for that harmonious colouring which is
so essential if the wallpaper is to give the desired sense of repose ; while
very many of the modern Continental patterns, though often strikingly
original both in design and colouring, are lacking in fine draughtsman-
ship, and indeed at times wantonly bad drawing is introduced for no
apparent reason.
Amongst both the British and Continental wallpapers one finds many
imitation canvas textures, leather grains, spot patterns and other line-
and-dot effects. These are all very well in their way, and have gained
167
WORK. BY HORACE WARNER
IN this brief survey of the work of some of the leading designers ot
wallpapers it will be necessary to refer to designs which have ap-
peared in the pages of this Year Book during the last ten years.
The wallpapers reproduced at the end of this article are intended
to supplement those which have been illustrated in previous issues ;
they do not purport to afford an exhaustive review of all the excellent
designs which have come under our notice.
Looking over the wallpapers produced during the period just mentioned
one cannot fail to be impressed by the soundness of the majority of the
designs, and by the number of well-known artists who have devoted
themselves to the creation of patterns that take their proper place upon
the walls of our homes. Amongst the numerous designs which are
issued each year there is, of course, a quantity of indifferent work, and
often bad copies of a master-hand are to be found. In the general book
of patterns, which is a commercial necessity, we are often disappointed,
and turn away with an antipathy for wallpapers altogether, finally de-
ciding to have plain walls ; for there is so much in the home—pictures,
china, etc.—that demands a reposeful background. I maintain, how-
ever, that while dead wall surfaces maybe desirable under certain condi-
tions, to adopt them as a general practice shows weakness, and is merely
overcoming a difficulty by following the line of least resistance. It also
reveals a lack of appreciation of the admirable work which has been
done, and is being done, by many able designers.
The use of a pattern as a background does not necessarily mean that the
wallpaper is going to assert itself unduly. The designs illustrated here,
and in former issues of this publication, have been selected primarily as
patterns and not on account of their colourings; but amongst the various
colour-treatments arranged by the manufacturers one can almost in-
variably find renderings which give merely a toned wall effect, to suit
those who desire a quiet background.
In comparing the works of the leading British designers of wallpapers
with those of the Continent, it seems to me that the former are sounder
in construction and show a greater appreciation of the value of good
drawing and a stronger feeling for that harmonious colouring which is
so essential if the wallpaper is to give the desired sense of repose ; while
very many of the modern Continental patterns, though often strikingly
original both in design and colouring, are lacking in fine draughtsman-
ship, and indeed at times wantonly bad drawing is introduced for no
apparent reason.
Amongst both the British and Continental wallpapers one finds many
imitation canvas textures, leather grains, spot patterns and other line-
and-dot effects. These are all very well in their way, and have gained
167