Arts and Crafts Movement

American  

noun

1. a movement, originating in England c1860 as a reaction against poor-quality mass-produced goods, that sought to revive earlier standards of workmanship and design, conceiving of decoration and craftsmanship as a single entity to be applied to the handcrafted production of both utilitarian and decorative objects, and that produced furniture, textiles, wallpaper, jewelry, and other items, often decorated with floral motifs.

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Etymology

Origin of Arts and Crafts Movement

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Founded in 1998, 21st Editions takes its inspiration from William Morris’s Arts and Crafts Movement and Alfred Stieglitz’s early 20th-century journal Camera Work.

From Washington Post • Aug. 11, 2015

A highly independent character, Loos was fascinated by Britain and was keenly aware of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 1890s.

From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2011

A century later, industrial culture was demonized by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which condemned it as soulless and destructive.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2010