See more objects with the tag floral.

See more objects with the color lightslategrey darkslateblue darkgrey or see all the colors for this object.

Object Timeline

2004

  • Work on this object began.

2005

2006

2013

2024

  • You found it!

Sidewall, Oakleaf

This is a sidewall. It was designed by Marthe Armitage and made by Marthe Armitage. It is dated 2004 and we acquired it in 2005. Its medium is linoleum block-printed on paper. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

Oakleaf was designed and printed by Marthe Armitage of Chiswick, England. The paper is quite bold and shows the influence of William Morris in its wandering, all-over oak branch design. The paper was printed by linoleum block on a manual offset lithographic printing press.
Armitage attended the Chelsea School of Art in the 1940s and was Master of the Art Workers’ Guild in 1993. The Art Workers’ Guild is a society of artists, craftsmen and designers founded in the 1890s, whose past Masters have included Morris, Walter Crane, and C. F. A. Voysey. She was inspired by William Morris, A. W. N. Pugin, and Edward Bawden. The flatness of her designs is especially reminiscent of Pugin and Bawden.
Great Britain is a leader in the innovative design of contemporary wallcoverings and it is important to represent this body of work in our collection. We have a growing collection of papers by contemporary British designers and this piece would help to better fully represent the variety of work being done.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled A contemporary wallcovering in the Arts and Crafts tradition.

This object was donated by Marthe Armitage. It is credited Gift of Marthe Armitage.

Its dimensions are

Overall: 318 x 61 cm (10 ft. 5 3/16 in. x 24 in.)

Cite this object as

Sidewall, Oakleaf; Designed by Marthe Armitage; England; linoleum block-printed on paper; Overall: 318 x 61 cm (10 ft. 5 3/16 in. x 24 in.); Gift of Marthe Armitage; 2005-26-2

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18702575/ |title=Sidewall, Oakleaf |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>