New exhibition at Emery Walker’s House celebrates the women of the Arts and Crafts Movement

Image: Bedroom at Emery Walker’s House with silk cushion designed by May Morris and embroidered by Dorothy Walker, bust of May Morris and bedcover designed and created by May. © Lucinda MacPherson

‘Making Her Mark’,  at Emery Walker’s House in Hammersmith, from Thursday 5 June- Saturday 29 November

A new exhibition at Emery Walker’s house in Hammersmith, Making Her Mark, shines a spotlight on the women who played a central role in the development of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Chiswick and Hammersmith are full of reminders of its influence, from the architecture and design of Bedford Park and the work of the Chiswick Art Workers Guild, to the William Morris museum in the basement of his house on the riverside, and the beautifully preserved home of Morris’s great friend, the printer Emery Walker, and his daughter Dorothy.

READ ALSO: Bedford Park 150 anniversary project turns up new information about its history

This radical movement emerged in the late 19th century as a reaction to the impacts of industrialisation—a call to return to the values of craftsmanship, beauty, and integrity in design.

Although the movement had strong social principles and opened up opportunities for some women, its history has largely been told through the works of its male pioneers—above all, William Morris.

Making Her Mark focuses on the lesser-known women who made valuable contributions artistically, and who worked to claim professional status in a cultural world that excluded them.

Image: 17th Century chair from Morris’s library & Wedgwood earthenware jugs painted by Louise and Alfred Powell inscribed to Emery Walker © Lucinda MacPherson

The making of a Women’s Guild

The most notable example is William Morris’s daughter, May, who became the Director of Morris & Co’s embroidery department at age 23. She was responsible for a range of designs which were frequently misattributed to her father.

In the world of ceramics, Louise Powell and Phoebe Stabler combined commercial success with artistic ambition, and produced works in partnership with major companies.

Katharine Adams and Ethel Sandell, meanwhile, made their names in the worlds of bookbinding and manuscript illumination, collaborating with leading printers and collectors of their day.

Mary Sloane, a painter and printmaker who was also a resident at the Hammersmith house, exhibited internationally and helped push the boundaries of etching as an expressive medium.

What links these artists—beyond their professionalism and creativity—is their membership to the Women’s Guild of Arts, founded in 1907 as a direct response to the exclusion of women from the Art Workers’ Guild.

Many leading members of the Women’s Guild were active in the suffrage movement, with the Artist’s Suffrage League also set up in the same year.

Image: 17th Century chair from Morris’s library with tapestry cushion made by May for Emery. MM to EW © Lucinda MacPherson

Networks of family and friendship

Personal connections also shaped the careers of these women.

In some cases—such as May Morris, Powell, and Stabler—family collaboration was key. In others, close friendships provided vital networks of support, whether through sharing studio space, exhibiting together, or offering mentorship.

Many of the works in this exhibition entered the collection at Emery Walker’s House as personal gifts, speaking to a deep sense of solidarity within the movement.

In the exhibition, each woman is described using the name and title by which she was identified in the records of the Women’s Guild of Arts.

The term “women art workers” is used throughout the exhibition to reflect their status as committed, professional practitioners.

Making Her Mark: Women in the Arts and Crafts Movement will be on display at Emery Walker’s House, 7 Hammersmith Terrace, from Thursday 5 June – Saturday 29 November 2025.

Visits are by pre-booked guided tour only on Thursdays and Saturdays. emerywalker.org.uk/visit

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