Fitzwilliam Brings Hidden Morris Collection Into View
Thousands of sketches, letters and patterns behind William Morris's famous flowers are coming out of storage for the first time.
The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge opens 'A Call to Art: William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites' on 23 October 2026. It runs to 3 May 2027, according to the museum press release.
The core is the museum's own Morris holding. Most of it has never been displayed. The museum holds thousands of drawings, paintings, designs, letters, books and other objects acquired by Sydney Cockerell, reported The Art Newspaper.
Cockerell knew Morris well. He was the English designer's friend and private secretary. He later led the Fitzwilliam as director from 1908 to 1937. He built its Morris collection object by object, label by label.
The show adds loans from other public and private owners across Britain. It is co-curated by Jan Marsh and Karen Livingstone. Luke Syson is the museum's director.
Much of the exhibition turns to the women who worked with Morris. That includes his daughter May Morris. She became head of the embroidery section of Morris & Co., the design firm Morris founded to make wallpapers, textiles and furniture.
It also puts Kate Faulkner centre stage. Faulkner was one of only three designers besides Morris himself to create designs for Morris & Co. Her Carnation fabric is still in production.
The largest loan is hers. It is a massive altarpiece made for the chapel at the University of Roehampton in southwest London. The work returns to view in Cambridge on loan from the chapel for which it was commissioned.
What makes this stand out is the paperwork. Visitors will see how designs moved from pencil sketch to shop shelf, and who stitched, drew and wrote along the way. For anyone who knows the patterns from cushions and curtains, this is the back of the picture, where the history is written.
