Ian Sprague spheroidal stoneware vase St Kilda 1-12-2015

Studio pottery is

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 ...

made by professional and amateur

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take varied forms, including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is a visual art. While ...

s working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs, especially those that are not intended for daily use as crockery. Typically, all stages of manufacture are carried out by the artists themselves.Emmanuel Cooper, ''Ten Thousand Years of Pottery''. British Museum Press, 2000. . Studio pottery includes functional wares such as

tableware Tableware items are the dishware and utensils used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. The term includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, serving utensils, and other items used for practical as well as decorative purposes. The ...

and cookware, and non-functional wares such as

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 ...

, with vases and bowls covering the middle ground, often being used only for display. Studio potters can be referred to as ceramic artists, ceramists, ceramicists, or as an artist who uses clay as a medium. Some studio potters now prefer to call themselves ceramic artists, or simply artists, for example, Grayson Perry, based in London. Studio pottery is represented by potters all over the world and has strong roots in Britain. Art pottery is a related term, used by many potteries from about the 1870s onwards, in Britain and North America; it tends to cover larger workshops, where there is a designer supervising the production of skilled workers who may have input into the pieces made. The heyday of British and American art pottery was about 1880 to 1940. Since the second half of the 20th century

ceramics 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, porce ...

has become more highly valued in the art world. Several large exhibitions worldwide have been held, including the now defunct Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA Chicago and SOFA New York), which included ceramics as an art form. Ceramics have realized high prices, reaching several thousands of pounds for some pieces, in auctions houses such as

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...

and

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

British studio pottery

Pre-1900

Notable studios included

Brannam Pottery Brannam Pottery was a British pottery started by Thomas Backway Brannam in Barnstaple, Devon, England, in 1848. It later became part of the "rustic" wing of the art pottery movement. History Thomas Brannam took over the lease of an existing p ...

, Castle Hedingham Ware, Martin Brothers and Sir Edmund Harry Elton.

1900-1960: Development of contemporary British ceramics

Several influences contributed to the emergence of studio pottery in the early 20th century: art pottery (for example the work of the Martin Brothers and William Moorcroft); 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 ...

, the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

; a rediscovery of traditional artisan pottery and the excavation of large quantities of Song pottery in China. Leading trends in British studio pottery in the 20th century are represented by Bernard Leach, William Staite Murray, Waistel Cooper, Dora Billington, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper. Originally trained as a fine artist, Bernard Leach (1887–1979) established a style of pottery, the ethical pot, strongly influenced by Chinese, Korean, Japanese and medieval English forms. After briefly experimenting with

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

, he turned to

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

fired to high temperatures in large oil or wood-burning kilns. This style dominated British studio pottery in the mid-20th century. Leach's influence was disseminated by his writings, in particular ''A Potter's Book'' and the apprentice system he ran at his pottery in St Ives, Cornwall, through which many notable studio potters passed. ''A Potter's Book'' espoused an anti-industrial, Arts and Crafts ethos, which persists in British studio pottery. Leach taught intermittently at Dartington Hall,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

from the 1930s. Other ceramic artists exerted an influence through their positions in art schools. William Staite Murray, who was head of the ceramics department of the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, treated his pots as works of art, exhibiting them with titles in galleries. Dora Billington (1890–1968) studied at Hanley School of Art, worked in the pottery industry and was latterly head of pottery 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 worked in media that Leach did not, e.g.

tin-glazed Tin-glazing is the process of giving tin-glazed pottery items a ceramic glaze that is white, glossy and opaque, which is normally applied to red or buff earthenware. Tin-glaze is plain Lead-glazed earthenware, lead glaze with a small amount of Tin( ...

earthenware, and influenced potters such as William Newland, James Tower, Margaret Hine,Oliver Watson, ''Studio Pottery'', London: Phaidon Press, 1993 Nicholas Vergette and Alan Caiger-Smith. Lucie Rie (1902–1995) came to London in 1938 as a refugee from Austria. She had studied at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule and has been regarded as essentially a

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. Rie experimented and produced new glaze effects. She was a friend of Leach and was greatly impressed by his approach, especially about the "completeness" of a pot.Gowing, Christopher, and Rice, Paul, ''British Studio Ceramics in the 20th Century'', Barrie and Jenkins, 1989, p. 113. The bowls and bottles which she specialised in are finely potted and sometimes brightly coloured. She taught at Camberwell College of Arts from 1960 until 1972. Hans Coper (1920–1981), also a refugee, worked with Rie before moving to a studio in Hertfordshire. His work is non-functional, sculptural and unglazed. He was commissioned to produce large ceramic candlesticks for

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

in the early 1960s. He taught at Camberwell College of Arts from 1960 to 1969, where he influenced Ewen Henderson. He taught at the

from 1966 to 1975, where his students included Elizabeth Fritsch, Alison Britton, Jacqui Poncelet, Carol McNicoll, Geoffrey Swindell, Jill Crowley and Glenys Barton, all of whom produce non-functional work. After the Second World War, studio pottery in Britain was encouraged by two forces: the wartime ban on decorating manufactured pottery and the modernist spirit of the Festival of Britain.Harrod, Tanya, "From A Potter's Book to The Maker's Eye: British Studio Ceramics 1940-1982", in ''The Harrow Connection'', Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, 1989 Studio potters provided consumers with an alternative to plain industrial ceramics. Their simple, functional designs chimed in with the modernist ethos. Cranks restaurant, which opened in 1961, used Winchombe pottery throughout, which Tanya Harrod describes as "handsome, functional with pastoral but up to date air". Cranks represented the look of the period. Elizabeth David's food revolution of the post-war years was associated with a similar kitchen look and added to the demand for hand-made tableware. Harrod notes that several potteries were formed in response to this fifties boom. There was in turn a demand for potters trained in workshop practice and able to throw quickly. As this training was not offered by the art schools of the period, the Harrow Art School studio pottery diploma was created to fill the gap. According to Harrod, "the production potter of the Harrow type had a good innings well into the seventies", by which time the market for this style of pottery was falling away.Harrod, Tanya, "From A Potter's Book to The Maker's Eye: British Studio Ceramics 1940-1982", in ''The Harrow Connection'', Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, 1989

1960s-present: Modern British potters

Pog Crafts vase - 2024-12-17 - Andy Mabbett - 01

From the 1960s onwards, a new generation of potters, influenced by

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

and the

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of 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 of Arts and Crafts. ...

including Ewen Henderson, Alison Britton, Elizabeth Fritsch, Gordon Baldwin, Ruth Duckworth and Ian Auld began to experiment\abstract ceramic objects, varied surface and glaze effects to critical acclaim. Elizabeth Fritsch has work represented in major collections and museums worldwide. The number of potters increased in the mid-1970s the Craft Potters Association had 147 members, and by the mid-1990s it had 306.

British organisations

The representative body for studio pottery artists in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

is the Craft Potters Association, which has a members' showroom in Great Russell Street, London WC1, and publishes a journal, ''Ceramic Review''.

US studio pottery

Pottery had been an integral part of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the late 19th century and early 20th century. A major figure in the growth of this movement was Charles Fergus Binns, who served as the first director of the New York State School of Clay-Working at Alfred University. Binns was a British potter who had previously worked at the Royal Worcester Porcelain Works. After emigrating to the United States he was recruited to direct the new program at Alfred University, and over the next three decades he helped it grow into one of the most prestigious ceramic arts programs in the nation. Some potters in the United States adopted the approach from emerging studio pottery movements in Britain and Japan. In addition, American folk pottery of the southeastern United States was seen as an American contribution to studio pottery. University programs at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, under the direction of Arthur Eugene Baggs in 1928 and under Glen Lukens in 1936 at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, began training ceramic students in presenting clay ware as art. Baggs had been intimately involved in the Arts and Crafts movement at Marblehead Pottery and, during the 1930s, he revived interest in the salt glazing method for studio pottery. European artists coming to the United States contributed to the public appreciation of pottery as art, and included Marguerite Wildenhain, Maija Grotell, Susi Singer and Gertrude and Otto Natzler. Significant studio potters in the United States include George E. Ohr, Otto and Vivika Heino, Warren MacKenzie, Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos and

Beatrice Wood Beatrice Wood (March 3, 1893 – March 12, 1998) was an American artist and studio potter involved in the Dada movement in the United States; she founded and edited '' The Blind Man'' and '' Rongwrong'' magazines in New York City with French ...

US organizations

* National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts

Museum studio pottery collections

;Canada *

Gardiner Museum The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (commonly shortened to the Gardiner Museum) is a ceramics museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is situated within University of Toronto's St. George campus, in downtown Toronto. The museum b ...

;United Kingdom * Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in Birmingham, England * Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

Norwich, England Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

* Swindon Museum and Art Gallery *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London, England * York Art Gallery in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

;United States of America *

American Museum of Ceramic Art The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) is an art museum for ceramic art, located in Pomona, California. Founded in 2003 as a nonprofit organization, the museum exhibits historic and contemporary ceramic artwork from both its permanent collec ...

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

* Schein–Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred University, New York * Scripps College, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery The Marer Collection of Contemporary Ceramics in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

* University of Michigan Museum of Art in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

;Australia *

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...