Keith Day Pearce Murray (5 July 1892 – 16 May 1981) was a New-Zealand-born British

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and industrial designer, known for ceramic, silver and glass designs for

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

Mappin & Webb Mappin & Webb (M&W) is an international jewellery company headquartered in England. Mappin & Webb traces its origins to a silver workshop founded in Sheffield . It now has retail stores throughout the UK. Mappin & Webb has held Royal Warrants ...

and Stevens & Williams in the 1930s and 1940s. He is considered to be one of the most influential designers of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

age.

Early life and education

Murray was born in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

suburb of

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave b ...

on 5 July 1892. His father, Charles Henry Murray, from

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

, Scotland, and his mother, Lilian Day George, from New Plymouth, New Zealand, had married in New Plymouth in March 1889. Charles, a printer and commercial stationer in Auckland for fifteen years, passed away after a long illness, aged 43, at home in Cheltenham Road, Devonport, on 2 February 1898. In January 1900, his mother, Lilian, married Dr William Chisholm Wilson McDowell at St Mary's Church, New Plymouth. Younger sister Evelyn was a bridesmaid to their mother. Murray was educated at Prince Albert College, Auckland. When he was 13 years old, his stepfather received 12 months leave from the University Board to attend to medical studies at Edinburgh University. In consequence, the family moved to Britain in March 1906, where Murray attended

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist ...

in London. After returning to New Zealand in April 1907, he attended King's College in

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

, by which he passed the December 1908

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

matriculation examinations.

Career

Architecture and aero club

By 1910–11 Murray was working as a draughtsman for the architect Arthur Pollard Wilson / Wilson & Moodie in Victoria Arcade, Queen Street, Auckland. In 1910 he took on the office of secretary for the newly formed Aero Club of New Zealand, with Leo Walsh as club president. That year the club entertained

Frederick Walker Baldwin Frederick Walker Baldwin (January 2, 1882 – August 7, 1948), also known as Casey Baldwin, paternal grandson of Canadian reform leader Robert Baldwin, was a hydrofoil and aviation pioneer and partner of the famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell. ...

and Alexander Graham Bell during their tour of Australia and New Zealand, they having expressed a great interest, on hearing of the club, to meet with club members and inspect their flying machines. Murray promoted the progress of the Walsh Aeroplane Syndicate's Howard Wright biplane, and club activities. In addition to designing the club's winged emblem badge, he also designed a glider for the club's in-house glider design competition, in which he gained second place out of the six entrants. He worked for Wilson & Moodie until 1914, when, it appears, he moved to England to study architecture.

First World War

Murray served as an officer of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) during the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Having gained Aviator's Certificate No. 1290 in a

Maurice Farman Maurice Alain Farman (21 March 1877 – 25 February 1964) was a British-French Grand Prix motor racing champion, an aviator, and an aircraft manufacturer and designer. Biography Born in Paris to English parents, he and his brothers Richard and ...

biplane at the

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

Military School and confirmation as second lieutenant on 1 June 1915, trained at Joyce Green and Dover from 16 June, advanced to rank of flying officer, No. 15 Special Reserve, on 18 August and lieutenant on 1 December, the squadron was deployed to France on observation and reconnaissance duties in December 1915. On 1 March 1916 he was appointed to flight commander and temporary captain, posted to No. 2 Squadron flying Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c. Further postings back to No. 15 Special Reserve, from 14 June 1916, and No. 52 Squadron as squadron commander with the rank of major from 21 September 1917, led to command of No. 10 Squadron from 22 October 1917, which had been re-equipping with Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 and moving to

Abeele Abele (also spelled Abeele) is a small village or hamlet in the city of Poperinge, in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The village is located on the territory of Poperinge proper and its "deelgemeente" Watou, but is also partly located on ...

aerodrome, Belgium. From there the squadron took part in the Battle of Cambrai from 20 November 1917 and the German spring offensive from 21 March 1918. Murray said of the aircraft in relation to the reconnaissance work: "The big A-W was slow, but my pilots liked it for the particular job they had to do, and never regarded themselves as 'cold meat'. Owing to the nature of their work, they were rarely in a position to attack, but when attacked, as they were frequently enough, they gave a good enough account of themselves." Murray was mentioned three or four times in General Sir Douglas Haig's despatches, and conferred the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

in September 1917: "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on numerous occasions. He has displayed the utmost skill and fearlessness in ranging our batteries on hostile battery positions. Most of this work he had to carry out at a very low altitude and under very heavy fire, owing to the fact that the target was very well camouflaged, but, in spite of being repeatedly attacked and his machine several times damaged by anti-aircraft and machine gun fire, he was invariably successful." After the war ended he was permitted to retain rank of majorand conferred the Belgian ''Croix de Guerre''. Since joining the RFC, he had flown Avro, Royal Aircraft Factory BE, Grahame-White and Bristol Fighter aircraft. The transport NZSC RMS ''Remuera'' landed Murray and the New Zealand troops to an enthusiastic Auckland welcome on 5 May 1919, but he returned to London by the NZSC RMS ''Ruapehu'' on 23 August, to continue his studies in architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.

Industrial design

Following the war, Murray graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1921 and that year was elected an associate of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

. However a lack of work forced him to make a living as an illustrator for magazines. In 1928 he held his own show at the

Lefevre Gallery The Lefevre Gallery (or The Lefevre Galleries) was an art gallery in London, England, operated by Alex. Reid & Lefevre Ltd. The gallery was opened at 1a, King Street, St James's, in 1926, when rival art dealers Alexander Reid and Ernest Lefe ...

in London but this was not to prove his passion. His visits to exhibitions such as the 1925 Paris Exposition and the 1931 Exhibition of Swedish Industrial Art in London inspired Murray to seek out opportunities to design vases and tablewares for factory production, and as the depression of the early 1930s further reduced the demand for architecture he became a full-time designer. Murray first approached Arthur Marriott Powell about the possibility of working in

Whitefriars Glass White friars are members of the Order of Carmelites. Whitefriars may also refer to: Related to Carmelites * Whitefriars, Bristol, a former Carmelite friary in Bristol, England * Whitefriars, Coventry, a former Carmelite friary in Coventry, Englan ...

in London. Though his ideas proved unsuitable for their style of glass, he worked as a freelance designer at Stevens & Williams of Brierley Hill in the West Midlands in 1932. The trial pieces were shown in London that year and the 'Keith Murray range' was produced. Between 1932 and 1939 he produced over 1200 designs though many were only issued in quantities of six or twelve. In 1932 he also began working 2–3 months a year for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons.

Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indus ...

invited him to visit the Wedgwood Factory. He was then employed to produce designs for dinner and teaware. It is here that Murray's famous ribbing designs began to form. His first range was entitled 'Annular'. In 1934 the royal silversmiths

approached him and asked if he could produce bowls and vases in silver working to the same designs as his Wedgwood pieces. Most of his work was with vases, bowls and similar cylindrical ware, executed in a clean and restrained style with decoration often limited to deeply incised lines or smooth steps in the shape. The whole piece is usually one colour without applied decoration. From the beginning Murray's stature as a designer was recognised as every piece bore his signature above the Wedgwood mark. In 1935, Murray was consulted on the design of glassware for the

Orient Line The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a British shipping company with roots going back to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century onwards, an association began with P&O which became 51% shareholde ...

's new liner, RMS ''Orion'', of which,

Brian O'Rorke Edward Brian O'Rorke (1901 – 1974) was a New-Zealand-born British architect and interior designer. Early life and education Brian O'Rorke was born at Fendalton, Christchurch, New Zealand, on 14 June 1901, the third son of Edward Dennis O'Ror ...

was architect responsible for interior design. The following year, Murray was appointed architect in charge of designing the new Wedgwood factory at

Barlaston Barlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone. According to the 2001 census the population of the ...

, Staffordshire.

Second World War

In February 1939, some seven months before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Murray returned to the RAF as a commissioned officer assigned to the Administrative and Special Duties Branch. Ill health required him to relinquish his commission in January 1942. In the

1942 New Year Honours The 1942 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1941.United Kingdom and Britis ...

he was again mentioned in despatches.

Architecture

Following the war he returned to architecture and left the field of industrial design. Murray's work sold well at the time and has become increasingly sought after.

Gallery

File:Box (AM 1988.164-2) (cropped).jpg, Wedgwood cigarette box, c. 1935 File:Vase (AM 2000.83.1).jpg, Wedgwood vase File:Vase (AM 1995.65.2-1).jpg, Basalt ware vase for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd File:Vase (AM 1995.65.2-5).jpg, Murray's signature on the base of the vase File:Vase (AM 1995.172.1-3).jpg, Wedgwood vase, c. 1935 File:Bowl (AM 1992.222-2).jpg, Black basalt ware bowl for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd, c. 1938

List of works

* * *
Works by Keith Murray from the collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaWorks by Keith Murray from the collection of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia