Aesthetic Movement Wagon
Antique Late 19th Century Aesthetic Movement Shelves and Wall Cabinets
Metal
Antique Late 19th Century English Aesthetic Movement Footstools
Upholstery, Wood
1920s Aesthetic Movement Figurative Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Bergere Chairs
Linen
Vintage 1960s American Hollywood Regency Stools
Upholstery, Wood
Antique 19th Century English Chinoiserie Stools
Faux Bamboo
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
Lithograph
20th Century Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1930s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Plywood, Canvas
Mid-20th Century English Chinese Chippendale Stools
Wood
1970s Modern Abstract Prints
Lithograph
Antique Mid-19th Century British Chinese Chippendale Stools
Upholstery, Wood
20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Stools
Fabric, Faux Bamboo
Antique Late 19th Century French Folk Art Carnival Art
Iron
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Early 20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary American Benches
Wood
Mid-20th Century Unknown Folk Art Toys and Dolls
Metal
Vintage 1920s Unknown Aesthetic Movement Benches
Upholstery, Wood, Paint
A Close Look at aesthetic-movement Furniture
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.