Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
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.
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Bronze
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Stained Glass, Wood
19th Century Spanish Antique Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Oak
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Iron
Early 20th Century Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Mid-20th Century Spanish Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Iron
Mid-20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Iron
19th Century Swedish Antique Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Iron
1950s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Wrought Iron
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Iron
Early 20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Wood
Early 19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century French Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Wood, Glass
19th Century Antique Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Pine
Early 20th Century German Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Glass, Wood
20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Wood
1930s North American Vintage Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Wood, Paint
1870s British Antique Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
Brass
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Aesthetic Movement Doors and Gates
