MODULE 4 - THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT/VICTORIAN ART ERA

 Module 4 - Explore a subject of interest in the Arts and Crafts Movement or the Victorian Art Era (CHAPTERS 9 and 10)

I am personally drawn to the Arts and Crafts Movement (1880 to 1920) where bold black and white woodcut designs inspired by the return of handicraft in graphic design was the mainstay of the day (Megg's 2016) and I found Chapter 10 on the era to be a particularly interesting read. The typography of the period became an art form and some of the early forms of true graphic design that we can even see today.

But again, as in my last post on the Renaissance, other than Kate Greenway's childhood illustrations from the Victorian era (Megg's 2016), there appears to be a lack of reference to the women's mark on graphic design history, especially in regard to typography. When the likes of Frederic Goudy was being recognized for his Venetian and French Renaissance type fonts (Megg's 2016), there was one significant typeface designer and typographer of the Arts and Crafts era that was not represented in Megg's , but did stand out to me during my research; Elizabeth Colwell. 

Font Type by Elizabeth Colwell: Colwell Handletter

Photo credit: http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-51178.html

As mentioned in the article "What does feminist graphic design history in the United States look like?" by Dina Benbrahim, Elizabeth Colwell was a typographer who, as many artists during this pivotal period were, inspired by nature. According to Benbrahim's own research from a design publication (Thompson 1994), Colwell was well known as a graphic designer during this period, in which she "designed bookplates and was known for her lettering and her work as a book designer."

Colwell is most well known for her display typeface, the Colwell Handletter and its italic form that she designed for American Type Founder in 1916, and in traditional female trendsetter form, was known as the only American female type designer during this graphic design period in history (American Type Founders 1923). In addition, in 1913, Alice Rouiller wrote a piece, "The Work of Elizabeth Colwell" for an issue of the The Graphic Arts. This was, apparently the first and only time a woman designer was featured in the magazine. 

Photo credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehpQ1O_ty0gBV4GYaWWw7PLXQHuk6u0KQhy8rcy46Dow7tIs_PvaiSpTXbMkccoRf9RDU-meEJ2V3QwKGhFSvYYfm5-PxjTr9z_eTaWnC1Itxe9F-uPYzKf8QLsGI9LAY7lzfiAPU6SgY/s1600/1913_03+Elizabeth+Colwell+Graphic+Arts+p237.jpg

And like other graphic designers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Colwell was also a gifted woodcut artist, printmaker, painter, writer and created many works that were appreciated not only during her day,  but also today. I think this is an important exercise in looking beyond the traditional written history and searching for important figures that made significant contributions that are still valuable today, but have yet to be recognized. 

Photo credit: http://www.artnet.com/artists/elizabeth-colwell/two-color-woodcuts-72w2xKdSl9ZvCFamtxnC9A2

Thomson, Ellen Mazur. “Alms for Oblivion: The History of Women in Early American GraphicDesign.” Design Issues 10, no. 2 (1994): 27-48. doi:10.2307/1511627

1923 American Type Founders Specimen Book & Catalogue