Designer Biography

Lewis Foreman Day

Born: 1845

Died: 1910

See items in our stock by Lewis Foreman Day

In 1864 Day started work at the stained glass manufacturers Lavers & Barraud; he subsequently spent time with Clayton & Bell and Heaton, Butler & Bayne, where he was involved with the decoration of Eaton Hall, reconstructed in the High Victorian style for the Duke of Westminster. In 1870 he established his own design business providing wallpapers for W. B. Simpson and Jeffrey & Co., tiles for Maw, Pilkington and Craven Dunnill; textiles for John Wilson, Turnbull & Stockdale and others; and furniture and silver for a number of different manufacturers. At the 1878 Paris Exhibition Aesthetic clocks by Day were shown by Howell, James & Co., and a cabinet with his panels by H.J. Cooper. He was a founder member and later secretary of the Art Workers' Guild; a member of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society; a prolific journalist, contributing to the Art Journal, Magazine of Art and The Architect; and an influential theorist of design and decoration.