Crane, Walter

Crane, Walter, 1845–1915, English designer, illustrator, and painter. As a painter he is grouped with the later Pre-Raphaelites, but he is better known for his illustrations of the works of Spenser and of Hawthorne's Wonder Book and Grimm's Fairy Tales. Seeking with William Morris to ally art with everyday life, he designed textiles, glass windows, tapestries, and house decorations. Crane's interest in socialism is expressed in his cartoons for Commonweal and Justice. In 1888 he founded the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society of London.

See his memoirs, An Artist's Reminiscences (1907); G. Smith, ed., Walter Crane, 1845–1915 (1989).

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