May Morris and the Art of Embroidery by Lynn Hulse – Online

<p>Online Spring Lecture Series 2026<br />Heroines and Heroes of the Arts and Crafts Movement</p> <p>May Morris described design as ‘the very soul and essence of beautiful embroidery’ and ranked it chief among the four elements that make a piece of needlework truly ‘artistic’. Drawing on her substantial corpus of designs in the Ashmolean Museum, Lynn Hulse will explore May’s approach to translating a sketched idea into a finished piece of embroidery, contextualising her work within the artistic developments of needle-art that were taking place in the years leading up to and during her lifetime.</p> <p>Dr Lynn Hulse is a textile scholar and practitioner, specialising in embroidered furnishings of the Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts movements. She is the author of several publications on decorative needlework and editor of May Morris: Art & Life (2017). Her most recent book May Morris Designs was published by the Ashmolean Museum in August 2025. Formerly archivist at the Royal School of Needlework, Lynn now runs Ornamental Embroidery which delivers workshops, lectures and first-hand study sessions of objects in public and private collections.</p> <p>Image: Rose Wreath By William Morris / May Morris </p>