Rethinking the Interior, c. 1867-1896

From Aesthetes in Africa to the cultural history of the teapot, this collection addresses the topic of "eclectic" relationships in Victorian decorative art. Rethinking the Interior, c. 1867-1896 argues that no firm demarcation exists between Aestheticism and Arts and Crafts, the two movements examined here. The volume addresses the complex and temporary character of interiors, and challenges the identification of nineteenth-century interiors as exclusively female or family spaces.

Contents: Introduction: the Victorian interior: a collaborative, eclectic introduction, Jason Edwards and Imogen Hart; Re-reading the green dining room, Sally-Anne Huxtable; Superabundance and disorder: Ruskin's 'two great evils' and the church of St Mary, Studley Royal, Jane Hawkes; An 'enchanted interior': William Morris at Kelmscott House, Imogen Hart; The lessons of Leighton House: aesthetics, politics, erotics, Jason Edwards; 'Fearful consequences ... of living up to one's teapot': men, women and 'cultchah' in the aesthetic movement, Anne Anderson; 'Of things both old and new': the work of Richard Coad and James MacLaren, Paul Holden; Paintings from nowhere: Walter Crane, socialism, and the aesthetic interior, Morna O'Neill; The aesthetics of the community: queer interiors and the desire for intimacy, John Potvin; 'Baffling arrangements': Vernon Lee and John Singer Sargent in queer Tangier, Diana Maltz; Sculpture and aesthetic intent in the late Victorian interior, Martina Droth; Timeline; Bibliography; Index.