Charles Robert Ashbee

Charles Robert Ashbee

(1863-1942)
Born in Isleworth, Middlesex, Ashbee was a leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England at the end of the XIXth century. After education at Wellington College and King’s College, Cambridge, Ashbee was articled to the architect G.F. Bodley. In 1888 he founded the Guild of Handicraft, which produced notable works of decorative art, often to his designs, particularly silver, jewelry, and furniture. The guild prospered through the first years of the 20th century, and, though it was dissolved in 1908, it left a permanent mark on modern design. In 1900, during a trip to Chicago, Ashbee became acquainted with Frank Lloyd Wright, and, when Wright’s executed works were published in Germany in 1911, the preface was written by his British counterpart. Though they never collaborated in their work, their friendship is the most notable example of the permanent link between both aspects of the Arts and Crafts Movement.