Wallpaper
Wallpaper collections are relatively rare. The Whitworth's comprises several thousand examples and has an international reputation. The bulk of the Collection was given to the Gallery in 1967 by The Wall Paper Manufacturers Ltd., which had controlled most of the UK wallpaper industry since 1899. Since the 1970s further donations and purchases have helped to make the Collection one of the most important in the country.It contains wallpapers and other wallcoverings dating from the 17th century to the present, from simple patterns printed on small sheets of paper, 18th century luxurious embossed and gilt leather hangings to numerous late 19th century examples by well-known designers such as William Morris, Voysey and Crane. The 20th century is represented by products showing the skill of craftspeople involved in producing a wide variety of decorations, the inventiveness of early post-war designers and the exuberance of those working in the 1970s. A relatively recent departure is the acquisition of work by late 20th/early 21st century artists such as Abigail Lane, who use wallpaper in a fine art context.
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