08/23/2026
A Designer Worth Rediscovering: Harry Napper
Everyone knows William Morris. But one of the joys of working with historic Arts & Crafts designs is discovering the remarkable artists who followed in his footsteps.
Harry Napper was part of the next generation of British designers working as the Arts & Crafts Movement began to mingle with the flowing new forms of Art Nouveau.
And his work is gorgeous.
Napper had a wonderful ability to take familiar flowers and plants and transform them into richly patterned decorative art. His Water Lily design is a favorite of ours—the flowers seem to float through a beautifully ordered garden of leaves and stems, with just enough structure to make the pattern feel perfectly at home in a Craftsman interior.
What I especially love is that you can see two design worlds meeting in his work: the love of nature and craftsmanship we associate with William Morris, and the more graceful, flowing lines that were emerging with Art Nouveau.
More than a century later, it still feels remarkably fresh.
We love bringing these sometimes-overlooked historic designers back into the home. Morris may have opened the door, but there were so many talented artists who carried the Arts & Crafts tradition forward in their own distinctive ways.
Harry Napper is certainly one worth remembering.
David & Alesandra
Foxwood Pillows
