Julia Althea Carter Preston (26 January 1926 – 6 January 2012) was a British potter who was responsible for reviving the art of

sgraffito ''Sgraffito'' (; plural: ''sgraffiti'') is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in pottery, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive laye ...

(where designs are scratched on to

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelai ...

s) in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, the youngest of four daughters of the sculptor

Edward Carter Preston Edward Carter Preston (7 July 1885 – 2 March 1965) was an English artist, renowned as a sculptor and medallist. Biography Preston was born, and died, in Liverpool. He designed the bronze memorial plaques presented to the families of British ...

and his wife Marie (née Tyson Smith), a watercolourist and the sister of the sculptor Herbert Tyson Smith, Julia Carter Preston attended the Liverpool Institute High School for Girls, Blackburne House.Preston's obituary
in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' 18 January 2012 While studying at the

Liverpool College of Art Liverpool College of Art is located at 68 Hope Street, in Liverpool, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The original building, facing Mount Street, was designed by Thomas Cook and completed in 1883. The extension along Hope Street, desi ...

in the 1940s she discovered a passion for ceramics and chose to specialise in pottery, passing her pottery examination and gaining a National Diploma in Art in 1951. Following this, Carter Preston taught ceramics at several colleges in Liverpool and became Head of Ceramics and taught

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and po ...

at the

when

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Stuart Sutcliffe Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 – 10 April 1962) was a Scottish painter and musician best known as the original bass guitarist of the English rock band the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a paint ...

were students there. She held this post until the mid-1970s. During the 1960s she worked for a period as

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 rap ...

's official lecturer in the north-west. In 1960 she married Michael Pugh Thomas, a marine biologist and environmental scientist.Brown, E. Myra, ''Julia Carter Preston'' - Publisher: National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside (1999) There were no children of the marriage. Examples of Julia Carter Preston’s work were presented to

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

and the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, Duchess of Kent, ...

when they made official visits to Liverpool. Another piece was commissioned as a present for the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

when he visited the newly restored St George’s Hall in the city in 2007. An exhibition of her work was held at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

in 1999; this was opened by ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local peopl ...

'' expert Tim Wonnacott, who is an enthusiastic collector of her work. Carter Preston was made a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

in 2005. Her work is represented in the

, the Liverpool University Art Gallery, the

York Art Gallery York Art Gallery is a public art gallery in York, England, with a collection of paintings from 14th-century to contemporary, prints, watercolours, drawings, and ceramics. It closed for major redevelopment in 2013, reopening in summer of 2015. T ...

, the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treas ...

in Belfast and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in Washington. After the death of her husband in March 2011 she lived in a nursing home near to her former home in Canning Street. Her own collection of her ceramics was donated to

Liverpool Hope University Liverpool Hope University (abbreviated LHU) is a public university with campuses in Liverpool, England. ‌The university grew out of three teacher training colleges: Saint Katharine's College (originally Warrington Training College), Notre Dame ...

where a trust has been set up to preserve the collection and support student bursaries.Preston's obituary
in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' 22 January 2012

References

External links

'Julia Carter Preston part of Liverpool artistic dynasty'
- obituary in the ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...

'' 4 February 2012
In memoriam: Julia Carter Preston
-

10 January 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Julia Carter 1926 births 2012 deaths English contemporary artists English ceramicists English potters Academics of Liverpool College of Art People associated with Liverpool John Moores University Women potters 21st-century ceramists British women ceramicists