London gallery Millinery Works is celebrating its rich collection of Arts & Crafts furniture with a temporary exhibition of its most recent acquisitions.
The gallery was originally founded in 1970 by Brian Thompson and Derek Rothera as a selling outpost in Camden Passage under the name The Antique Trader. Since 1996 it has been operating from the former hat-making factory focusing on British Arts & Crafts - with parts of the collection dedicated to painting, ceramics and contemporary craftsmen's work. The Haggerston-based institution has established itself as the destination for the British 20th century movement and has even collaborated with Loewe on the Spanish brand's furniture collection (creative director Jonathan Anderson has been a customer for years).
The current exhibition, Masters of Arts & Crafts, is the gallery's 19th annual specialist display of the theme, and forms part of a programme that presents a temporary showcase a few times each year. It is a diverse showcase of furniture by the likes of Gordon Russell, Baillie Scott and George Henry Walton, and exposes the movement’s dynamic diversity. Luscious wooden furniture features alongside more decorative elements, such as George Walton’s 1900 coloured glass works or his heart-shaped cut-out on an oak chair from a few years earlier. The clean display allows visitors to both appreciate the pieces' rich craftsmanship and their elegant shapes.
A bespoke Australian walnut Cotswold table (left), by Peter Waals, c. 1930 and a mahogany barrel chair with slatted sides (right in foreground), by Liberty & Co, c. 1900
Left: A chestnut Cotswold small chest of drawers with carved bog oak handles, by Sir Gordon Russell, c. 1925. Right: a rare, green painted ash 'Sussex' armchair, designed by Philip Webb for Morris & Co, c. 1865
Sir Gordon Russell's oak fall-front bureau, over one drawer on a stand of six chamfered octagonal legs joined by chamfered stretchers. Photography: Jessica Klingelfuss
A dark oak Cotswold desk, by Arthur Romney Green
A rare pair of oak armchairs with sloped tall backs, originally designed for 'The Homestead' in Frinton-on-Sea, a house designed and furnished by CFA Voysey in 1902
An oak Cotswold circular coffee table (left), attributed to Romney Green, c. 1920, and a pair of unusually large oak Arts & Crafts reclining armchairs, made by Furniture Industries Ercol, c. 1930.
ADDRESS
The Millinery Works Gallery
87 Southgate Road
London, N1 3JS UK
-
Fendi celebrates 100 years with all-out runway show at its new Milan HQIn the wake of Kim Jones’ departure, Silvia Venturini Fendi took the reins for a special co-ed A/W 2025 collection marking the house’s centenary, unveiling it as the first act of celebrations within Fendi’s expansive new headquarters in Milan
-
‘Leigh Bowery!’ at Tate Modern: 1980s alt-glamour, club culture and rebellionThe new Leigh Bowery exhibition in London is a dazzling, sequin-drenched look back at the 1980s, through the life of one of its brightest stars
-
Inside the unexpected collaboration between Marni’s Francesco Risso and artists Slawn and SoldierNew exhibition ‘The Pink Sun’ will take place at Francesco Risso’s palazzo in Milan in collaboration with Saatchi Yates, opening after the Marni show today, 26 February
-
Anglepoise and National Trust look to Britain’s coastal landscape for a new blue lighting collectionAnglepoise and National Trust announce their third lighting collection, Neptune Blue
-
Dimoremilano opens immersive Marylebone residency around Frieze London 2022Coinciding with this year’s Frieze London, Dimoremilano has opened an immersive residency at The Invisible Collection’s new Marylebone HQ
-
Holloway Li’s debut furniture collection is like colourful candyHolloway Li presents the ‘T4’ collection of furniture, created in collaboration with Turkish manufacturer Uma and inspired by the designers’ 1990s childhood
-
Bill Amberg creates leather furniture in collaboration with the Knepp EstateLondon-based designer Bill Amberg has created a series of furniture pieces for the Knepp Estate, Sussex, using leather from the rewilding project's animals for an on-site cafe due to open in 2023
-
London’s Groucho Club gets a faceliftTransit Studio leads the makeover of London’s Groucho Club – its series of new, refurbished rooms are part of the Soho legend’s ongoing modernisation plans
-
Inside Battersea Power Station’s first homesThe first residents have moved into Switch House West, Battersea Power Station’s first completed section
-
Iconic Barbican unit refreshed with new art and vintage furnitureA Barbican apartment interior design refresh by designer Oskar Kohnen blends modern minimalism and art with the Brutalist complex's original character in London
-
London family home blends art, craft and bespoke design detailsA London family home by interior designer Shalini Misra blends art, craft and bespoke design details in a comfortable yet colourful interior, full of surprises
