Voysey Charles Francis Annesley

Biography

Charles Francis Annesley Voysey FRIBA RD was an English architect and furniture and textile designer. Voysey's early work was as a designer of wallpapers, fabrics and furnishings in a Arts and Crafts style and he made important contribution to the Modern Style or British Art Nouveau style. He is renowned as the architect of several country houses.

He was one of the first people to understand and appreciate the significance of industrial design. He has been considered one of the pioneers of Modern Architecture, a notion which he rejected. His English domestic architecture draws heavily on vernacular rather than academic tradition, influenced by the ideas of Herbert Tudor Buckland (1869-1951) and Augustus Pugin (1812-1852).

The Sanderson wallpaper factory (1901) in Chiswick, which he designed, is named Voysey House in his memory.

Voysey was heavily influenced by the work of William Morris and was concerned with form and function rather than ornamental complexities. He felt that "simplicity in decoration is one of the essential qualities without which no true richness is possible" and often worked in a limited colour palette, "emphasizing outline, eliminating shading, and minimizing detail." He joined as a member of the Art Workers' Guild in 1884, "the conscientious core of the Arts and Crafts Movement", being elected to the position of Master in 1924.

His furniture designs were simple and functional, and only sparingly decorated. He particularly advocated that wood should be left with its natural finish, contrary to the popular techniques which covered wood with paint and stain. He eschewed the complexities identified with late Victorian design.

Many modest houses built in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s were inspired by Voysey's simple vernacular country houses, although Voysey himself built no houses after 1918.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has an extensive collection of Voysey's work, including design drawings, fabrics, carpets, and wallpapers.

2011 saw the formation of the C. F .A. Voysey Society, dedicated to his life and work.