Fitzroy Picture Society

An obscure but arguably influential short-lived Society that existed during the period c.1891-1903. It comprised a group and Arts & Crafts designers whose aim was to dispense with the elitist attitudes of the Arts and Crafts Movement instigated by the likes of William Morris and John Ruskin, and in doing so introduce its beauty to the masses. Their ideas involved the production of brightly coloured lithographic prints that could be purchased cheaply and displayed on school walls and hospitals available for all to see and enjoy. The protagonists included Arthur Mackmurdo, Heywood Sumner, Louis Davis, Christopher Whall and Charles March Gere. In the long-term it had a significant effect of the ‘Art for Schools’ movement two decades later and again in turn for the post-World War II Prints for Schools movement. The 'headquarters' of the Society were at 20 Fitzroy Street in London's West End the home of Herbert Horne (1864-1916), one of the Century Guild's chief designers of textiles and wallpapers.