Join Rowan Bain, co-curator of the William Morris Gallery's new exhibition, as she explores how art from the Islamic world shaped William Morris’s approach to design. This talk delves into Morris’s personal collection of carpets, textiles, metalwork, and ceramics—primarily from Iran, Syria, and Turkey, to reveal how the motifs and patterns influenced his most famous work. Accompanied by a new book,Tulips and Peacocks: William Morris and Art from the Islamic World (Yale University Press.

Rowan Bain is Principal Curator of the William Morris Gallery, London, where she oversees the collections, exhibitions and public programme. She is co-curator of the exhibition William Morris and Art from the Islamic World and editor of the accompanying publication published by Yale University Press. Her past exhibitions include Althea McNish: Colour Is Mine(2022), Kehinde Wiley: The Yellow Wallpaper (2020) and May Morris: Art & Life(2017). Previously she was Assistant Curator, Middle East Section, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. She is the author of William Morris’s Flowers (Thames & Hudson/V&A, 2019), co-author of May Morris Arts & Crafts Designer (Thames & Hudson/V&A, 2017) and most recently contributed to Women Pioneers of the Arts & Crafts Movement (Thames & Hudson/V&A, 2019). She is currently co-editing the collected letters of May Morris with Anna Mason and Margaretta Frederick.