William De Morgan

Born in London in 1839, William Frend De Morgan was an English potter, tile designer, and novelist. A close friend of William Morris, he worked with Morris & Co. in the 1860s and 1870s, designing tiles, stained glass, and furniture before building his own reputation as one of the most imaginative makers associated with the Arts and Crafts movement.

De Morgan became especially admired for his ceramics, with vivid glazes and designs shaped by strong interests in Middle Eastern and historic decorative traditions. Museums and specialist collections still highlight his inventive pottery and tile work, and he is often remembered not just as a craftsman but as an artist-experimenter with a real technical streak.

Later in life, he turned seriously to fiction and found a wide readership as a novelist. That late success gives his story an appealing twist: after years devoted to design and making, he reinvented himself as a writer and remained creatively active until his death in 1917.