The Aesthetic Movement was a late 19th century shift in taste set against the backdrop of post- Civil War America and popularized by the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia. The Movement championed pure beauty and “art for art’s sake” and emphasized sensual and visual qualities of art and design over moral or even practical considerations.
Aestheticism manifested itself in ordinary household items and indeed, one of the tenets of the Movement was that it be part of everyday life and not limited to painting, sculpture and architecture. Its influence can be seen in ceramics, metalwork, furniture, glass, jewelry and interiors of the period.
Many important artists were enthusiasts of aestheticism. The American painter James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was a leading American proponent of the Movement and his Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, 1876-77 (installed at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC) is considered one of the best surviving aesthetic interiors and best examples of Anglo-Japanese style.
The Herter Brothers company (working 1864-1906) was a leading cabinetmaking and decorating firm and is synonymous with the Aesthetic Movement. The firm designed and decorated William Henry Vanderbilt’s (1821-1885) Fifth avenue mansion in the 1880s and also furnished the Red Room of President Ulysses S. Grant’s (1822-1885) White House (1869-1877). Rhode Island’s Gorham Manufacturing Company was an adopter of the style and many of its wares demonstrated the influence of Japanese art on western culture known as “Japonisme.”
British artists and tastemakers who had spearheaded the movement in England were hugely influential as the Movement took hold in America and included painters Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones. Progressive architect and designer Edward Godwin began working in the Gothic style of mid-Victoriana but transitioned entirely to the Anglo-Japanese taste of aestheticism. And Liberty & Co., founded in London in 1875, had enormous influence on British designers as the leading purveyor of “artistic dress” and Japanese arts and crafts.
By following self-expression, these artists not only defined a great moment in design history but helped introduce the tenets of what would become the modern art movement of the twentieth century.
Photos:
Fire Screen, The Herter Brothers (American, 1864-1906), attributed
Ebonized cherry and glass, c. 1880
The Preservation Society of Newport County
Pendant, Jessie Marion King (1875-1949) for Liberty & Company (English, est. 1875)
Gold, enamel and amethyst, c. 1900
The Collection of Richard H. Driehaus, Chicago. Photo credit: Tadema Gallery
Tea Caddy with Lid, Tiffany & Co. (American, est. 1837)
Sterling Silver, 1873
The Preservation Society of Newport County
Vase, Baccarat Glasshouse (French, 1764-present)
Crystal, c. 1878
The Preservation Society of Newport County
Bohemian Beauty Overview
Oscar Wilde in Newport
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