This striking photograph of May Morris was taken on 3 February 1889 at Hammersmith Terrace, London. Standing with her guitar by a Morris & Co. Sussex chair, May was likely rehearsing for a Socialist League performance.
The photograph is one of a series taken that day, including one of her seated (see WMG:P660) as well as group photograph (held at The Wilson, Cheltenham) capturing May alongside Henry Halliday Sparling, Emery Walker, and George Bernard Shaw—all active members of the Socialist League. From 1885, May took part in Socialist plays and entertainments, often performing with Eleanor Marx and Shaw. She also ran a choir and remained a keen guitarist throughout her life.
May understood that music, theatre, and social gatherings were powerful tools for bringing people into the Socialist movement. She later wrote two plays: Lady Griselda’s Dream (1898) and White Lies (1903).
