A.W.N. Pugin: master of Gothic revival

Abstract

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852) was one of the most appreciation of medieval art and architecture and established in his polemical writings and design manuals the principles upon which the 19th-century Gothic Revival was based. His ideas were adopted and developed by followers as diverse as William Morris and Frank Lloyd Wright. Pugin virtually invented modern concepts of interior and industrial design. A master in the use of colour, pattern and ornament, with no fear of modern technology, he was also a prolific product designer, creating furniture and woodwork, silver, metalwork and jewellery, pottery and tiles, textiles and wallpapers, and books, all of which reflected his desire to adapt the principles of medieval art to the modern world. This catalogue and the exhibition it accompanies establish Pugin as a figure of worldwide significance. The objects in this catalogue, which are illustrated primarily in colour, reflect Pugin's diversity as a product designer and the modernity of his design principles. Ten essays and their illustrations are included. They show the development of pre-Puginian Gothic and underline the nature of Pugin's role in the history of architecture and design.