Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 2: Modern Era (1850–1949)

1888

The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society Holds its First Annual Exhibition

Exhibition · Europe

Cover of the catalogue of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society's first annual exhibition, held at the New Gallery, Regent Street, London, in the autumn of 1888.
Cover of the catalogue of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society's first annual exhibition, held at the New Gallery, Regent Street, London, in the autumn of 1888. Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society, Catalogue of the First Exhibition, The New Gallery, 121 Regent Street, 1888. Archive of Art and Design, Victoria and Albert Museum (AAD/1980/1/797); digitised by the Internet Archive.

These annual exhibitions by the newly formed Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society aimed to raise the cultural standing and awareness of craft work, such as ceramics, textiles, metalwork and furniture. According to the V&A, “for many years in Britain exhibitions mounted by the Society were the only public platform for the decorative arts, and were critical in changing the way people looked at manufactured objects.”

Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.

Sources

Movements

Arts & Crafts

Filed under

Ideas
Arts & Crafts, ceramics, craft, furniture, metalwork, textiles
Organisations
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
Places
Britain

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