Bert's Iris, William Seltzer Rice (1873–1963)

The iris motif appears frequently in Arts and Crafts decoration. In William Seltzer Rice’s woodcut, a bouquet of irises flourishes in an Arts-and-Crafts–style earthenware bowl. This color woodcut was itself produced by hand utilizing simple tools and equally straightforward design such as the broad areas of solid color and the very adamant outlining of forms. The emphases on the handcrafted character of objects and the simplicity of materials were fundamental to the Arts and Crafts movement.