1. Talwin Morris was a prolific book designer and decorative artist working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly known for his Glasgow Style furniture, metalwork and book designs.
15 Facts About Talwin Morris
1. 2.
Talwin Morris's mother died from complications just 24 days after his birth, and his aunt Emily moved from Reading, Berkshire to look after him.
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Talwin Morris was later described however by artist Mary Newbery Sturrock as "a tall pale-complexioned man, who favoured the dress of the artist of the day, in clock and wide-brimmed hat".
4.
Between 1882 and 1885 he was articled to the architectural firm his uncle Joseph Talwin Morris ran with Spencer Slingsby Smallwood at 9 Friar Street in Reading, Berkshire, winning a prize in 1885 in the Berkshire Archaeological and Architectural Society's drawings competition.
5.
Whilst working for Blackie and Son, Talwin Morris continued to accept freelance commissions, such as mastheads for the popular Cassell periodical Magazine of Art.
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Talwin Morris soon made the acquaintance of the artists and designers associated with the Glasgow School of Art via Robert Blackie who sat on the committee of the School from 1871 to 1892.
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Talwin Morris is known, for example, to have visited the art studio of the sisters Frances Macdonald and Margaret Macdonald at 128 Hope Street.
8.
Around 1897 Talwin Morris wrote an unpublished manuscript Concerning the Work of Margaret Macdonald, Frances Macdonald, Charles Mackintosh and Herbert McNair: an Appreciation which is held by Glasgow Museums.
9.
Talwin Morris is known to have been a keen collector of Martinware ceramics, a passion he shared with his cousin Ernest Marsh.
10.
The house was sold in July 1899 to the parents of his friends Margaret and Frances Macdonald, and Talwin Morris's interiors were subsequently completely remodelled by Mackintosh.
11.
Talwin Morris is incorrectly listed as Dalwin Morris in the 1901 census, and employed a domestic servant called Elizabeth Gourlay.
12.
From 5 October-5 December 1896 Talwin Morris exhibited three book cover designs at the fifth exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society at the New Gallery, London.
13.
Talwin Morris became hugely influential in Victorian book design by moving away from the popular narrative bindings of the time to a more modern Art Nouveau approach where line, curve and decoration are used to entice the reader.
14.
From 1893 Talwin Morris designed brass metalwork and textiles for his home Dunglass Castle, and several pieces now reside in the collection of the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery.
15.
In 1910, Talwin Morris designed the memorial of his employers the Blackie Family in Glasgow Necropolis, which was then carved by John Mossman.