Donald Steele Potter (21 April 1902 – 7 June 2004) was an English

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

wood carver Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ...

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Early life

Don Potter was born in Newington, near

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. The town stands next to th ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, the son of a school teacher, and attended a private school. He joined the

Wolf Cubs Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a group of Cubs ...

at the age of eight and became a keen participant in the

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

movement.

Career

Potter developed as a woodcarver, producing

totem pole Totem poles () are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large t ...

s, gates and gateways. By the time Potter reached the age of twenty, the head of the Scouts,

Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Boy Scouts Association and its first Chief Scout, and founder, with ...

himself, realized he was an expert craftsman. Potter camped at Baden-Powell's house at

Pax Hill Pax Hill (Peace Hill), near Bentley, Hampshire, England, was the family home of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout movement, and his wife, Olave, for over twenty years during the 20th century. It is located at the end of a half-mile drive ...

near

Bentley, Hampshire Bentley is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. The parish has changed little over centuries and currently measures , the same size it measured in 1875 when the population was 731 The village is north ...

and undertook carving commissions for him. He used very old local fallen oaks, said to be 1,200 years old. For the 1929

World Jamboree The World Scout Jamboree is a Scouting jamboree of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, typically attended by several tens of thousands of Scouts from around the world, aged 14 to 17. At the jamboree, many scouts swap badges. The firs ...

, Potter designed totem poles for the British Dominions of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and New Zealand. As well as wood carving, Potter started to work in stone as well and met

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American and British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1910. Early in his ...

(who had studied with

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

). In 1931, he approached

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

and asked to study under him. Gill was an engraver, designer of typefaces and sculptor, with carvings in

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

. Initially, Potter was on a six-month trial, but he remained as Gill's pupil for six years. He worked with Gill on sculptures at the

Midland Hotel, Morecambe The Midland Hotel is a Streamline Moderne building in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. It was built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), in 1933, to the designs of architect Oliver Hill (architect), Oliver Hill, with sculpture by E ...

. While with Gill, he undertook wood carving, including the panels for the doors for the Rare Books Room of 1934 in the

Radcliffe Science Library The Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) is the main teaching and research science library at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Being officially part of the Bodleian Libraries, the library holds the Legal Deposit material for the sciences a ...

(

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

), the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

for the altar of the St Peter the Apostle church (

Gorleston-on-Sea Gorleston-on-Sea (), historically and colloquially known as Gorleston, is a seaside town in the borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England. It lies to the South of Great Yarmouth, on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Yare. Historic ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

), and a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

in the woods at Pigotts where Gill was based near

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

. In addition to being a sculptor, Potter spent his later career as a teacher at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

(1940–1984), responsible for both

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

. Prior to taking up this appointment he had never done any pottery and took lessons from

Amy Krauss Amy Eliza Krauss RWA (January 1876 – 26 December 1961) was a British artist known for painting in oils and watercolours, and latterly ceramics. She is best known for the painting in the Royal Collection in Queen Mary's Dolls' House ''at'' Winds ...

at Corfe Castle and then Winchcombe Pottery where

Ray Finch Raymond Finch (born 2 June 1963) is a British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England between 2014 and 2019. The fourth named candidate on the UK Independence Party (UKIP) list for the South Ea ...

and

Michael Cardew Michael Ambrose Cardew (1901–1983), was an English studio pottery, studio potter who worked in West Africa for twenty years. Early life Cardew was born in Wimbledon, London, the fourth child of Arthur Cardew, a civil servant, and Alexandra ...

were working. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sir

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...

was inspired by him as one of his pupils. Potter continued to undertake commissions during his time as a teacher, including some for the School. For instance, examples of stone carvings undertaken by him in 1991 can be seen at a local church in the village of

Durweston Durweston ( ) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies northwest of the town of Blandford Forum. It is sited by the River Stour at the point where it flows out of the Blackmore Vale through a steep, narrow gap be ...

. The porch of

Our Lady of Grace and St Teresa of Avila Our Lady of Grace and St Teresa of Avila is a Grade II listed Roman Catholic church at 1 King's Road, Chingford Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is ...

RC Church in

Chingford Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walt ...

, North East London, has oak panels depicting animals and fish that Potter carved in 1956. A major work by Potter is the granite statue of Robert Baden-Powell (1960–61) to stand in front of the then new

Baden-Powell House Queen's Gate House, still commonly known by its previous name of Baden-Powell House, is a conference centre in South Kensington, London. It was built as a tribute to Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, and has served as the headquarters ...

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street i ...

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. However, that property has now been sold, and the statue has been moved to the Scout HQ at Gilwell Park, Chingford. Another of his works is the Commemorative Stone on Brownsea Island, unveiled by B-P's daughter Betty on 1 August 1967. The Don Potter Art School at Bryanston School, opened in October 1997 in his presence, is named after him.

Gallery

File:Don Potter Art School - October 1997.jpg, Don Potter with the carved sign at the opening of the Don Potter Art School, Bryanston School, October 1997 File:Sculpture of Robert Baden-Powell by Don Potter, 1960.jpg, Statue of Robert Baden-Powell (1960–61),

, London File:Don Potter sculpture, St Nicholas, Durweston.JPG, Carving on the south face of the tower of St Nicholas church in

, by Don Potter (1991)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Don 1902 births 2004 deaths English potters English woodcarvers English men centenarians Schoolteachers from Dorset English male sculptors People from Newington, Swale Scouting pioneers 20th-century English sculptors 20th-century English artists 20th-century English educators 20th-century British ceramists 20th-century English male artists