William Morris Quotes
It is for all these buildings, therefore, of all times and styles, that we plead, and call upon those who have to deal with them to put Protection in the place of Restoration, to stave off decay by daily care, to prop a perilous wall or mend a leaky roof by such means as are obviously meant for support or covering, and show no pretence of other art, and otherwise to resist all tampering with either the fabric or ornament of the building as it stands; if it has become inconvenient for its present use, to raise another building rather than alter or enlarge the old one; in fine to treat our ancient buildings as monuments of a bygone art, created by bygone manners, that modern art cannot meddle with without destroying.
This is one of the first organized efforts for the historical preservation of old buildings.
William Morris, 1834-1896, English Craftsman, Designer, Writer, Typographer, and Political Philosopher, Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, 1877
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The mosaics of Jesus and Mary at Hagia Sophia:
Like the Mexican Muralist Diego Rivera, he produced gigantic murals with historical and social themes. He actually included lynchings and KKK meetings and Mormon persecution in his works which offended many Missouri politicians, but then he was probably in a better position to do so than any artist in Missouri.
See Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil {608419} and Jamal’s other quotation {604664}
William Morris was a British textile designer, poet, novelist, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he helped win acceptance of socialism in fin de siècle Great Britain.
