Celebrating the rise of collectable contemporary and modern ceramics, Masters of British Studio Pottery presents a selection of outstanding works by prominent 20th- and 21st-century artists. HANS COPER Digwell Form, c.1963. Photo: Michael Harvey, courtesy of Erskine, Hall & Coe TONY HEPBURN Stack (P63) and Stack (P64), 1972. Courtesy of the Crafts Council This stunning showcase is inspired by the success of Things of Beauty Growing, the US/UK exhibition of British studio pottery that debuted at the Yale Center for British Art in September 2017 and opens at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge in March 2018. Masters of British Studio Pottery offers a unique insight into the story of modern ceramics in Britain, and is a rare opportunity to purchase work by the key figures involved. Curated by Annabelle Campbell, head of exhibitions and collections at the Crafts Council, and Helen Ritchie, research assistant, Department of Applied Arts, The Fitzwilliam Museum, this special display offers a rare opportunity to enjoy the story of ceramic art as pioneered by significant British artists. Works featured are from Erskine, Hall & Coe, Marsden Woo Gallery and Oxford Ceramics Gallery, with loans from both the Crafts Council and Fitzwilliam Museum collections. LAWSON OYEKAN White Eben, 2016. Photo: Philip Sayer, courtesy of Marsden Woo Gallery Objects on display include a rare 1930s tea set by Lucie Rie, monumental work by Julian Stair, plus pieces by Bernard Leach, Hans Coper and an early work by Gwyn Hanssen Pigott. Other makers in the display include Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Alison Britton, Ewan Henderson, Sara Radstone, Ruth Duckworth, Jennifer Lee, Lawson Oyekan, James Rigler and Gordon Baldwin. Alongside these important pieces are two works representing the collections of the selecting curators: an Emmanuel Cooper bowl from the Fitzwilliam (part of the Goodison Gift to The Fitzwilliam Museum, given through the Art Fund) and Stack and Stack by Tony Hepburn from the Crafts Council Collection, which featured in the 1972 inaugural exhibition of the Crafts Advisory Committee, Ten British Potters. Works from this show provided the basis of the Crafts Council’s national collection. Commenting on the exhibition, Campbell observes: ‘This display is reactive, reflective and celebratory. The first objects acquired by the Crafts Council were a group of studio ceramic works that provided the EMMANUEL COOPER Bowl, 2004. Courtesy of The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge foundation for a collection that has grown to become a document of evolving contemporary craft practice over the past five decades. British studio ceramics provide a cross-generational narrative of innovation, invention and tradition, of evolving, inspiring and exceptional models for practice.’ This display is presented in collaboration with Erskine, Hall & Coe, Marsden Woo Gallery, Oxford Ceramics Gallery and The Fitzwilliam Museum and would not have been possible without their co-operation and support. All gallery works in the showcase are for sale. 139