C. F. A. VOYSEY (1857-1941)

Voysey was a prolific designer of wallpapers, textiles, tiles and other decorative media for domestic use, and carpets were no exception. On the advice of his friend, A.H. Mackmurdo, he created designs whilst waiting for architectural commissions and the influence for his naturalistic flowing designs probably owes more to Mackmurdo, founder of the Century Guild, than to William Morris. Voysey's main aim was to introduce lightness and color into what he perceived as morbid and dreary interiors. He fought hard to campaign against the sombre 'art' colors in vogue during his youth and what he called ' .... the unreasonable, unhealthy, and insane opposition to the conventional application of animal life to decoration ... .'. By the mid-1890s Voysey's work was dominated by flowing patterns incorporating pastel-colored flora and fauna and the present 'Duleek' with its stags, swans, doves and trees in silhouette is perhaps among his most characteristic and original designs. Although this may have been against the stylistic norm, his design was popular and produced by Morton's as double-cloth and Madras muslin and also as a wallpaper.
The 'Duleek' was manufactured in Alexander Morton's Donegal range, and retailed at Liberty's, where it was included in their 'Irish Carpet Exhibition', held at the Grafton Gallery, in Bond Street, London, in 1903.