Towards Modernism

A TREASURE TROVE OF DESIGN
The Walter C Cook Collection of Decorative Arts is one of the treasures of Te Papa. Built up over a twenty-five-year period by Walter Cook, a discerning and determined collector of modest means, its glass, ceramic and metal objects track the evolution of design from the Arts and Crafts movement through to the British and European modernism of the 1970s.

The world’s leading designers – William Morris, Christopher Dresser, Archibald Knox, William Moorcroft, Frank Brangwyn, Charles Noke, Gladys Rodgers, Truda Carter, Susie Cooper, Keith Murray, Stig Lindberg, Berte Jessen, Carl-Harry Stålhane and so many more – all feature in its pages.

Richly illustrated with over 300 objects, from art pottery to Danish design, this book showcases the stars of the collection while offering an engaging short course in design history.