Although the Arts and Crafts movement dominated England between the years 1860 and 1915, its effects were felt around the world, especially in Western Europe and the United States, well into the 1920s. Artwork associated with the Arts and Crafts movement is characterized by a handcrafted aesthetic that embodied the principles of its English founders: C.R.Ashbee, W.R. Lethaby, and William Morris, among others. The philosophy these men advocated centered on their belief that the Industrial Revolution had produced substandard goods with little artistic merit. In response to this situation, they sought to reintroduce handmade products to the arts and to elevate the craftsman to a more prominent position in the design professions. In refocusing the production of art away from machines and toward individual designers, Arts and Crafts leaders hoped to reform society by changing the way art was created, patronized, and appreciated in English society. The Arts and Crafts movement promoted the i...