Christopher Dresser
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER was born in Glasgow in 1834 and trained from 1847 to 1854 under the botanist John Lindley at the Government School of Design, London, where he also lectured for 14 years. His advocacy of ‘art botany’ – the stylized yet scientifically based depiction of nature – helped replace the overblown and false naturalism common in the High Victorian style with a more formalized type of ornamentation. In 1857 he was appointed professor of ’Botany Applied to the Fine Arts’ at the School of Design, South Kensington and published various books and articles which helped establish his reputation. He established his own studio which was hugely successful from the outset, supplying designs for metalware, ceramics, glass, tiles, textiles, wallpaper and cast iron furnishings to at least 30 of Britain’s most eminent manufacturers. He was also a highly influential design theorist and his forward looking designs reflected his belief in industrial production and his pursuit of ‘Truth, Beauty, Power’. Apart from his prominence as a design reformer DRESSER was also one of the first professional industrial designers.
He died in 1904 in Mulhouse, Alsace, France.
