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Journal of Design History 2004 17(3):237-250; doi:10.1093/jdh/17.3.237
© 2004 by Design History Society
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Significant Other

Art and Craft in the Career and Marriage of Mary Watts

Melanie Unwin

London

This essay considers the relationship between art and craft through the examination of the artistic practice of Mary Watts nee Fraser Tytler (1849–1938) in the context of her marriage to George Frederick Watts (1817–1904). G. F. Watts is widely recognized as an eminent British painter, and Mary Watts' most substantial work is the Watts Chapel (completed 1904) in Compton, Surrey. Designed by Mary Watts and physically made by her and the people of Compton, the chapel is perhaps best described as an Arts and Crafts project. However, its focal point, the altarpiece, is G. F. Watts' painting `The All-Pervading' (1904). This fusion of art and craft practice is symbolic of the Wattses' partnership and also an example of the ambiguous nature of Mary Watts' professional practice.

Investigation of the role of gender in art history has highlighted art:craft/male:female dichotomies in relation to the hierarchies of the arts. Whilst superficially the work of the Wattses seems to illustrate this model, this essay will explore the complexities that question such categorization. In the example of the Watts Chapel, traditional hierarchies are not clear, as Mary Watts subverts not only the nature of her craft project, but also social and cultural expectations, to negotiate a space in which to pursue her practice as a professionally trained artist. This essay will argue that art and craft practice for Mary Watts was a sophisticated tool, which she used to disrupt the established boundaries between the arts, and both to resist and to manipulate the persona ‘wife of the great artist’.

Key Words: Arts and Crafts Movement—gender—ornament—separate spheres—Victorian women—Watts, Mary


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