Editing William Morris (section)

=== Apprenticeship, the Pre-Raphaelites, and marriage: 1856–1859 ===
[[File:William Morris 001.jpg|thumb|upright|Morris's 1858 painting ''La belle Iseult'', also inaccurately called ''Queen Guinevere'', is his only surviving easel painting, now in the [[Tate Gallery]]. The model is [[Jane Morris|Jane Burden]], who married Morris in 1859.]]

Having passed his finals and been awarded a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], Morris began an apprenticeship with the Oxford-based [[Gothic Revival architecture|Neo-Gothic]] architect [[G. E. Street|George Edmund Street]] in January 1856. His apprenticeship focused on architectural drawing, and there he was placed under the supervision of the young architect [[Philip Webb]], who became a close friend.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=16–20|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=82, 87, 102|3a1=Thompson|3y=1955|3p=43|4a1=MacCarthy|4y=1994|4pp=102–108}} Morris soon relocated to Street's London office, in August 1856 moving into a flat in [[Bloomsbury]] in [[Central London]] with Burne-Jones, an area perhaps chosen for its avant-garde associations.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=102|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=108–110}} Morris was fascinated by London but dismayed at its pollution and rapid expansion into neighbouring countryside, describing it as "the spreading sore".{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=111–112}}

William Morris became increasingly fascinated with the idyllic Medievalist depictions of rural life which appeared in the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites, and spent large sums of money purchasing such artworks. Burne-Jones shared this interest, but took it further by becoming an apprentice to one of the foremost Pre-Raphaelite painters, [[Dante Gabriel Rossetti]]; the three soon became close friends.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=12–15|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=100–102, 105|3a1=Thompson|3y=1955|3pp=42–44|4a1=MacCarthy|4y=1994|4pp=113–115}} Through Rossetti, Morris came to associate with poet [[Robert Browning]], and the artists [[Arthur Hughes (artist)|Arthur Hughes]], [[Thomas Woolner]], and [[Ford Madox Brown]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=106|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=116}} Tired of architecture, Morris abandoned his apprenticeship, with Rossetti persuading him to take up painting instead, which he chose to do in the Pre-Raphaelite style.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=105, 109|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=44–45|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=115, 122–123}} Morris aided Rossetti and Burne-Jones in painting the [[Oxford Union murals|Arthurian murals]] at the [[Oxford Union]], although his contributions were widely deemed inferior and unskilled compared to those of the others.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=117–126|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=46–47|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=129–134}} At Rossetti's recommendation, Morris and Burne-Jones moved in together to the flat at Bloomsbury's [[Red Lion Square|No. 17 Red Lion Square]] by November 1856. Morris designed and commissioned furniture for the flat in a medieval style, much of which he painted with Arthurian scenes in a direct rejection of mainstream artistic tastes.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1p=20|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=112–114|3a1=Thompson|3y=1955|3p=45|4a1=MacCarthy|4y=1994|4pp=117–122}}

Morris also continued writing poetry and began designing illuminated manuscripts and embroidered hangings.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=123–125}} In March 1857 Bell and Dandy published a book of Morris's poems, ''The Defence of Guenevere'', which was largely self-funded by the author. It did not sell well and garnered few reviews, most of which were unsympathetic. Disconcerted, Morris would not publish again for a further eight years.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=129–135|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=76, 85|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=142–147}} In October 1857 Morris met [[Jane Morris|Jane Burden]], a woman from a poor working-class background, at a theatre performance. Rossetti initially asked her to model for him. Controversially both Rossetti and Morris were smitten with her; Morris, however, began a relationship with her and they were engaged in spring 1858; Burden would later admit that she had never loved Morris.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1pp=48, 74–76|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=135–141}} They were married in a low-key ceremony held at [[St Michael at the North Gate]] church in Oxford on 26 April 1859, before honeymooning in [[Bruges]], Belgium, and settling temporarily at 41 Great Ormond Street, London.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=138–139|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2p=76|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=151–152}}