Bernard Leach (1887-1979): A Stoneware Tree of Life Vase, circa 1959
Estimate: £4,000-6,000 plus buyer's premium
20th Century Design Sale
9th October 2021
Tennants Auctioneers
View lot:
A potter's world – Bernard Leach. Has an interest in Far Eastern art and pottery. Japanese art.
Bernard Leach is, without a doubt, the best known and most prominent of British studio potters.
Born in Hong Kong, he was taken almost immediately to Japan by his grandparents.
He came to England at the age of ten for schooling.
In 1909 he returned to Japan to teach etching which he had himself learnt from Frank Brangwyn.
After ten years of life in the East – both Japan and China – he met Hamada.
The following year they both came to England and set up the Leach Pottery at St Ives.
The years between the wars were hard for Leach; he spent much time re-building kilns, experimenting with materials, travelling – but not achieving much critical or financial success.
It was not until after the Second World War, and the publication of his first book, A Potters' Book, that he became widely recognised as a master in his field.
He continued to pot until 1972, but did not stop his ceaseless travelling.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London held an exhibition – The Art of Bernard Leach – in 1977, and in 1979 he died.
A potter's world – Bernard Leach. Has an interest in Far Eastern art and pottery. Japanese art.
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Leach Pottery in St Ives in Cornwall, this event – part of a series of online conversations exploring Japanese studio pottery from the 20th century through the present day and beyond – focusses on the town of Mashiko in Tochigi Prefecture as a site of historical significance for ceramics in Japan.
Matsuzaki Yuko, curator at the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Arts, is joined in conversation by Leach Pottery curator Matthew Tyas to discuss the contributions of Hamada Shōji and Bernard Leach in forging the shape of Japanese and British studio pottery.
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Arts and crafts….pottery
Bernard Leach offers an insight into his life’s work……
Bernard Leach was born in Hong Kong studied oriental pottery in Japan. In 1920 philanthropist Frances Horne invited him to St Ives to join the newly formed Guild of Handicrafts and with Hamada Shoji he set up the Leach Pottery on the Stennack River. There they built a Japanese climbing kiln or noborigama and produced studio pottery driven by experimentation, simplicity and functionality. In 1932 he set up a pottery and a school at Dartington Hall in Devon.
Leach specialised in Raku ware or Japanese lead-glazed earthenware inspired by its use for Japanese tea ceremonies. He rejected the aesthetic perfection of fine art pots but recognised the need for industrial potteries to produce dinnerware. The glazing and firing techniques and the element of chance make Raku ware popular and unique. Leach hosted the first ever International Conference of Potters and Weavers in 1952 at Dartington Hall and his reach and influence were global. He received a knighthood in 1962 and in 1977 the Victoria and Albert Museum held a retrospective of his work. The Leach Pottery Studio, Museum and Gallery continue to inspire studio potters.
from swfta archives/BFI
the above description is from the BFI website
Above, we present rare footage of master British ceramicist Bernard Leach in his studio in 1952, discussing his artistic process. The film is courtesy of Marty Gross Film Productions Inc., from the upcoming film compendium on the Japanese Folk Craft movement (Mingei).
To browse and bid on works from Leach and other studio ceramics masters, see our online-only 20th Century Japanese and British Studio Ceramics sale, which runs from 14 – 28 October. To learn more about Marty Gross’s ongoing efforts to restore and publish archival footage documenting the Mingei movement, visit mingeifilm.martygrossfilms.com.
