The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Textile with a mirrored, muted pink and blue floral pattern extending from the central, furled, pink leaves of a flower from which thick, pink with green leaf vines extend in an arcing "x," dividing the textile into four parts. Above and below, pairs of the central flower unfurl to show a cluster of shapes like needle-eyes in the center. Left and right, small honeysuckle buds gather in a pinwheel-like shape, surrounded by smaller vines and leaves. A solid, leafy blue ground provides a background.

Honeysuckle

Early 20th century
designer

William Morris

(British, 1834–1896)
England, Early 20th century
plain weave linen, printed
Overall: 87 x 90.5 cm (34 1/4 x 35 5/8 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Henry Chisholm 1937.697
Location: Not on view

Description

William Morris’s daughter May called Honeysuckle “the most truly Morrisian in character of all his pattern-making . . . the most mysterious and poetic—the very symbol of a garden tangle.” Like many Morris textiles from this period, Honeysuckle has a mirrored pattern. At 29 3/4 inches high and 34 3/4 inches wide, this repeat was unusually broad, spanning almost the entire width of the loom. Morris believed that large patterns were more restful to the eye than small patterns, even when used to decorate modestly sized rooms. Designs from this period are a testament to the delight he took in his garden at Kelmscott Manor; he favored the charm of native English flowers above exotic specimens.
  • Parry, Linda. William Morris Textiles. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983. p. 150, no 21
    Korkow, Cory. "Textiles." IN William Morris: Designing an Earthly Paradise. Cory Korkow and Victoria Hepburn, 8-23. Cleveland, Ohio : Cleveland Museum of Art, 2017. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 11, fig. 5
    Korkow, Cory. "Designing an Earthly Paradise: Enter the richly elegant world of William Morris.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 57, no. 6 (November/December 2017): 5-7. Reproduced: P. 5; Mentioned: P. 6 archive.org
  • William Morris: Designing an Earthly Paradise. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24, 2017-January 14, 2019).
    Transitions: 19th and Early 20th Century French and English Textiles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 3-November 16, 1986).
  • {{cite web|title=Honeysuckle|url=false|author=William Morris|year=Early 20th century|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1937.697