Arthur Lasenby Liberty

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Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty (August 13, 1843–May 11, 1917) was born in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England.

In 1875, he opened a shop, Liberty & Co. in Regent Street, London — selling ornaments, fabrics and miscellaneous art objects from Japan and the Far East.

Liberty & Co. first catered for an eclectic mixture of popular styles, but then went on to develop a fundamentally different style closely linked to the aesthetic movement of the 1890s called Art Nouveau (the "new art"). The company became synonymous with this new style to the extent that in Italy, Art Nouveau became known as Stile Liberty after the London shop.

Liberty & Co.'s selection of printed and dyed fabrics, particularly silks and satins, were noted for their range of subtle and "artistic" colors and were highly esteemed as dress fabrics, especially during the decades from 1890 to 1920. Their early patterned fabrics were block-printed by hand; these were extensively imitated by other firms using the cheaper roller-printing method. The term "Liberty satin" is still used for a type of soft heavy silk satin, while "Liberty print" refers to a multicolored pattern of small floral motifs.

He was knighted in 1913.