Artist Info
Owen Jones
Owen Jones (15 February 1809 – 19 April 1874) was an English-born Welsh architect and designer.
He was one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century and helped pioneer modern colour theory, and his theories on flat patterning and ornament still resonate with contemporary designers today.
He rose to prominence with his studies of Islamic decoration at the Alhambra, and the associated publication of his drawings, which pioneered new standards in chromolithography.
Jones was a pivotal figure in the formation of the South Kensington Museum (later to become the Victoria and Albert Museum) through his close association with Henry Cole, the museum's first director. Jones was also responsible for the interior decoration and layout of exhibits for the Great Exhibition building of 1851, as well as for its later incarnation at Sydenham.
The Grammar of Ornament, the global and historical design sourcebook is probably his best known work today.
