History of Design

The designer of this bow-arm Morris chair, Gustav Stickley (American, 1858-1942), was influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement. He used these ideas to create an American version of the English recliner. He is also the creator of this bow-arm Morris chair. He was an American designer and publisher who worked in a number of furniture manufacturing businesses owned by his family. He traveled a lot in the early 1890s and after seeing the works of other Arts and Crafts designers, he established his company in 1898 where later he began to design the unornamented, rectilinear craftsman furniture. He also published a periodical called “The Craftsman” (1901-1916), where he wrote articles and had illustrations of the arts and crafts work he did. The heading of this work of art is, "Craftsman Workshops, Bow-arm ‘Morris’ chair, recliner with cane seat support and stained oak." The style/ movement is Art and Craft. The date of manufacture is 1904.

Gustav Stickley designed the Bow-arm Morris recliner, with cane seat support and stained oak, in 1904 after Gustav Stickley adopted some of Morris’s ideas. Construction of this chair was by the use of native and ordinary materials, mainly wood, and the procedure was done manually by craftsmen. They assembled and put different parts together to build the recliner. The surface is made of sheer wood whose appearance was enhanced by cutting the wood to reflect a clear pattern of quarter sawn oak. In order to conceal the grain of the wood, lacquer and vanish were applied. The chair’s structural qualities were enhanced by revealing the mortise and tenon joints used. This chair has large, square legs, wide arms and exposed joinery that make it more comfortable.

Stickley borrowed the design of this chair from William Morris’s Bow Arm Recliner. Morris made his recliner by inserting pegs into the chair to enable the back of the chair to recline. This happened at the time when Gustav Stickley had traveled to Europe, and there he met William Morris with his design of the recliner. He liked the idea because of its ease of manufacture and how admirable the design was. Because of this, he admired and hence borrowed the concept and thereafter started to make his own recliners when he came back home. Stickley admired the bow-arm Morris recliner because of its simplicity, classy and comfortable look. He even managed to capture a more global market than Morris himself. Stickley’s knowledge and passion for art, crafts and design also contributed to him adopting this design from the first time he saw it. This is because he saw the prominent features of the recliner. Then he realized the fact that its making could be adjusted to widen its available market and also provide quality to consumers.

This chair possesses an admirable handmade look that was enhanced by its proper finishing. This is done without applying or using any harsh chemicals but by use of Art and Craft method to finish. This is also enhanced by use of dye and slightly scrubbing with sand paper. The craftsmen scrub it gently to avoid hurting the wood grains, and they properly apply dye which they have selected carefully. It is then left to absorb the dye and dry slowly. This in turn results in an excellent and admirable bow-arm Morris recliner.       

Stickley made the bow arm Morris recliner chair to be less expensive to the American market and worldwide. This was because of his emphasis on use of handmade furniture, and also by use of traditional craftsmanship methods rather than industrial manufacture. This was cheaper, compared to the English recliner hence helped him cut on production cost. His processing and making of the chair was, therefore, labor intensive. This made its production cheaper than the English version. Stickley also helped generate income to the people who worked as craftsmen. This also helped them to be able to afford to buy themselves their own recliners. In addition to this, they were learning and, therefore, they could make their own any time.

Image two shows Hector Guimard’s, a renowned French architect, furniture designer and crafts artist, Paris Metropolitan entrance. Guimard is renowned for his contribution to the look of French Art Nouveau in architecture and furnishings. The style of his work is architecture and design which he did around 1889-1905.

Guimard built the Paris Metropolitan entrance. He constructed it using unique materials like cast iron, glazed lava and glass. Guimard enhanced it by use of magnificent white tiles like the ones used in Paris metro.  The Paris Metro entrance, at the Square Victoria Station, was originally constructed on a concrete base (now stone) with a recognizable green cast iron form built on it. It has shield-shaped medallions, delicately curved sign holders, and "lily-of-the-valley" light standards with orange tear drop-shaped lamps. It has a conspicuous sign labeled, “METROPOLITAN.” The fabricated green cast iron makes it more colorful and hence acts as a symbol of beauty in the city. The classical stones used were also carefully selected from renowned lands. In addition, Guimard also used more metals of high quality and strength and less of weaker metals like stainless steel.

Some of the visual principles applied by Guimard in construction of the Paris Metropolitan entrance include line, color, form and texture. Guimard focused on every detail of his construction of the Paris Metropolitan entrance using cast iron to finish his work. He also included a balcony railing in this subway. He used exceptional coloring. Specifically, the green shaded fabricated cast iron which created a beautiful view that contrasted well with other entrance and city features. Therefore, putting together these combinations of both visual and practical features enhance formal continuity and beauty in the wider perspective.

Interchangeable parts are defined as those components that are identical and which can be substituted for one another to perform the same function. This could also be defined as those components which perform the same function under similar circumstances and could, therefore, be used interchangeably. This is mostly applicable in manufacturing and construction where tools, machines and equipment are used which require replacement from time to time. In the construction of the Paris metropolitan, Guimard uses fabricated cast iron and glasses which are interchangeable. This means that in case of any damage to these parts; they can always be replaced and the metro will look exactly the same because the materials used are similar to the previous ones, and their functioning is exactly the same.

The noble architectural and decorative works of Hector Guimard were famous during his time because of how they stood out. His works were made of unusual lines; distinguished lines underlined by using contrast of different shades of colour of the materials used, fluid, vibrant curves that were motivated by nature. He also used a perfect combination of materials such as wood, stone, glass and iron. Guimard’s designs constituted a large percentage of the organic and floral Art Nouveau style in France, which led him to be named after the great works, the Guimard’s style. Guimard’s other outstanding works, apart from building the Paris Metro entrance included building of all other metropolitan entrances in Paris, building Hotel Guimard in Paris (1912), building Castel Beranger in Paris (1894-1898), building Castel Henriette and Castel d’Orgeval. These are just a few examples of his marvelous works that he will always be remembered for. It is necessary to mention that Guimard was an influential architect, and he will always be remembered as a legend because of his notable works and contributions to the modern methods used in construction and other fields of art, crafts, architecture and construction.