Ada Louise Powell, née Lessore (March 1882 – 30 September 1956), was a British designer. Her illustrious family included her grandfather

Émile Lessore Émile-Aubert Lessore or Lessorre (1805 in Paris – 1876 in Marlotte) was a French ceramic artist and painter. Life He originally worked in Oil painting, oil and Watercolor painting, water colors, but expanded into ceramic art. His ceramics wo ...

, a free hand designer for

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), 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 L ...

, and her sister

Thérèse Lessore Thérèse Lessore (5 July 1884 – 10 December 1945) was a British artist who worked in oil painting, oil and watercolor painting, watercolour. She was a founder member of the London Group, and the third wife of Walter Sickert. Biography Lessor ...

. Her father, Jules Lessore, also decorated pottery but was primarily a marine painter, he had exhibitions at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. Powell studied calligraphy at the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...

. "She became highly skilled and well known, illuminating some of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

’ incomplete work, and extending her interests to decorative designs and the painting of furniture for Ernest Grimson". Ada thus had historical family connections to the arts and to Wedgwood, however after her father died in 1892 her progression in the arts was perhaps more indebted to the encouragement and aligned interests of her mother and siblings. Her sister, Thérèse Lessore, was a painter and founder member of the

London Group The London Group is a society based in London, England, created to offer additional exhibiting opportunities to artists besides the Royal Academy of Arts. Formed in 1913, it is one of the oldest artist-led organisations in the world. It was form ...

and who decorated Wedgwood blanks in the 1920s and her brother Frederick was a portrait sculptor who opened the

Beaux Arts Gallery Beaux Arts Gallery was a gallery at 1 Bruton Place, London, England. It was known as a preeminent center for promoting avant-garde art until its closure in 1965. Founded and operated by portrait sculptor Frederick Lessore in 1923, the gallery wa ...

. Ada Louise married

Alfred Hoare Powell Alfred Hoare Powell (1865–1960) was an English Arts and Crafts architect, and designer and painter of pottery. Early life, education, and career Alfred Powell was born in Reading, Berkshire, on 14 April 1865, the son of Thomas Edward Pow ...

on Thursday, 6 September 1906 and, in their ceramic works, they developed an artistic partnership.

Career

After her marriage to Powell the couple pursued a career with

together after setting up their studio in 1907 at 20 Red Lion Square in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, London. Wedgwood sought to offer a new product range which, after its success, lead to the couple receiving money towards a studio to work, two assistants in London and a studio in the Wedgwood factory. Their brief was to developed the art wares within the company. Their progressive style was sought by the company to mass-produce works which coincided with the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

. Some of their work was jointly signed however a lot of her work was individual as she preferred calligraphic and heraldic motifs. The couple were well known in the field of the arts and exhibited in many events such as: Arts and Crafts Exhibition at

Grafton Galleries The Grafton Galleries, often referred to as the Grafton Gallery, was an art gallery in Mayfair, London. The French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel showed the first major exhibition in Britain of Impressionist paintings there in 1905. Roger Fry's t ...

, 1906; Hampstead Exhibition, 1914; Decorative Arts of Great Britain and Ireland Exhibition at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, 1914; the

Paris Exhibition Paris Exposition or Paris Exhibition can refer to * French Industrial Exposition of 1844 * Exposition des produits de l'industrie française, held intermittently from 1798 to 1849 * Exposition Universelle (1855), the Paris Exposition of 1855 * Expos ...

, 1925 as well as yearly in their studio. Powell suggested the reintroduction of classic eighteenth century designs into a new Wedgwood collection hosted in Liverpool, which led to a lot of external approval and proved to be a commercial success, with the ''Staffordshire Sentinel'' commenting on their 'fresh style of decorated pottery'. The patterns included; 'Vine', 'Oak Leaf', and 'Crimped Ribbon and Wreath' and were sold to famous retailers such as Dunbar Hay and

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

. Most of her designs were hand painted and a lot of her patterns were derived from nature in a

calligraphic Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

fashion. Some of her designs were extremely complex and required modification by the art director at the time but were critically acclaimed by many.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Ada Louise People from Southwick, West Sussex 1865 births 1956 deaths English calligraphers Women calligraphers Wedgwood pottery