– (1902 – 1995)

Over a lifetime that spanned nearly the entire 20th century, Lucie Rie produced a large body of work: elegant and austere, richly glazed in a once-fired oxidizing kiln; delicate and modern in a time when the ceramics world looked toward large and bold. One of the artists who fled the brutality of Adolph Hitler, the Austrian-born Rie became a British citizen and embraced her new country. Along with fellow refugee , she struggled at first to find acceptance in British ceramics, which was then under the strong influence of , during times dominated by the difficulties imposed by World War II. In time Leach came to admire her work and to be a strong supporter of hers, and both Rie and Coper went on to careers whose separate paths and distinctive styles never altered their strong friendship, admiration and appreciation for each other. For over 60 years she made functional pottery, startling beautiful in its simplicity but always wheel-thrown functional pots meant to be used. At the time of her death Dame Lucie Rie had been honored with major retrospectives in both and the United States and had received the distinguished awards from her adopted country of OBE, CBE, and DBE.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT – LUCIE RIE

“I make pots. Put flowers in them, use them. They are for use.”1

“ I work in a completely unorthodox manner, no longer using any form of scientific method. I glaze my pots raw, often using a number of glazes on top of each other and sometimes between one glaze and the next layer of slip.”2

1. Quoted by Angus Stewart. “Dame Lucie Rie and Hans Coper.” Published in conjunction with Galerie Besson‟s exhibition in SOFA NEW YORK, 2006.

2. Peterson, Susan. The Craft and Art of Clay. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1992.

RESUME – LUCIE RIE

1902 Born Lucie Gomperz, ,

1922-1926 Studied pottery, Kunstegewerbeschule, Vienna

1925 Established studio in Vienna

1926 Married Hans Rie

1937 Silver Medal, Paris International Exhibition

1938 Moved to England

1939 Moved to Albion Mews, Paddington, London

1940 Divorced from Hans Rie

1945 Becomes naturalized British citizen

1945-1947 Bimini Designs; designed and made ceramic buttons

1946-1958 Hans Coper joins and shares workshop

1961-1971 Lecturer (part-time), Camberwell School of Art, London, England

1967 London, Arts Council, “Lucie Rie Retrospective Exhibition 1926-1967

1968 Order of the British Empire Award

1969 Honorary doctorate, , London, England

1981 Commander of the British Empire Award Norwich, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Retrospective Exhibition

1990 Stroke brings end to ceramic career

1991 Dame of the British Empire Award

1992 London, Crafts Council Retrospective

1994 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Exhibition with Hans Coper

1995 Died, London, England

BIOGRAPHY – LUCIE RIE

Lucie Gomperz Rie was born in 1902 into a prosperous Viennese family, her father a physician and her mother a member of a well-known wine producing family. Her early education was with a private tutor but she was also enriched by the intellectual circle of family and friends, including and her uncle, Sandor Wolf who had established a notable collection including, among other things, Roman pots. The family‟s idyllic existence was first shattered with Austria‟s declaration of war on Serbia which took the life of the younger of her brothers, Paul. Paul had shown an early talent for art and encouraged Lucie to explore it as well. Following his death, she took his advice and enrolled in the art school of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Vienna. Although she studied all the traditional subjects of an art education, it was ceramics, and in particular working on the wheel, that became her focus. Working with her teacher Michael Powolny and designer Josef Hoffmann she began making pots and, under their tutelage, visiting museums and exhibitions to further her knowledge of the world of ceramics.

Following her studies, Rie married businessman Hans Rie and continued pursuing a career in ceramics. The pots she was making were simple and modern in style, made of earthenware and raw glazed. Initially she raw glazed because she did not have a kiln and had to take her pots a fair distance to have them fired, but in time the raw glazing became an important part of her style. She also made pots that were to be used, what she called “pots for the house,” and that, too, did not change throughout her career. Her work was increasingly being included in exhibitions and shows, and in 1937 Josef Hoffmann included a special section in the Austrian Pavilion of the World Exhibition in Paris for seventy of her pots.

While the Ries were absorbed in their professions and in the life of Vienna, a more disturbing element was developing: the rise of Adolf Hitler and the concern that he would move to annex Austria. In 1938 Hitler entered Vienna and life for Jewish people as well as other groups became first intolerable and quickly, dangerous. The Ries were able to flee to England where friends arranged guarantors and helped them adjust to a new life. By now the Ries‟ marriage, while amicable and friendly, had largely become meaningless because of their very different interests, and the couple agreed to separate and ultimately divorce with Lucie remaining in England and Hans Rie moving to the United States where Lucie‟s brother helped him find employment.

Lucie Rie settled into a home in Albion Mews, Bayswater, and began working. However, England was not familiar with her work or reputation and the ceramics world at that time was dominated by Bernard Leach. The work Leach was doing was very different – influenced by Asian and medieval English pottery, and much heavier and more powerful than the delicate, simple pots Rie made. Leach initially did not care for her pottery and suggested she study with him to learn his style of pottery. For a time she did, and her work during those years was indeed more bold and powerful, but it was not her style and she never felt at ease with it.

With the outbreak of World War II, , like other “non-essential” arts, declined, and Rie found work making earthenware buttons and jewelry as well as working in a lens factory which enabled her to survive the war years. The buttons she made were very popular, so much so that she needed helpers, and the work, though demanding, gave her the opportunity to expand her knowledge of glazing.

Lucie Rie became a British citizen in 1945, and shortly thereafter, the war ended. As a new era was beginning in Britain, one was also beginning for Rie. Hans Coper, also a refugee from Hitler‟s , came to Rie‟s studio looking for work. He had been trained as a textile worker, but Rie taught him to make pottery and he helped her to produce not only the buttons and jewelry, but also tableware and other domestic ware. In addition, Coper encouraged Rie to follow her own style instead of emulating Leach, and their mutual support of each other played a highly influential role in the development of each artist. Coper soon developed his own style, much different from hers in that his forms were complex, often unglazed and textured, and he frequently rubbed the surfaces with oxides producing the effect of other materials, such as stone. Rie and Coper continued to share a studio for the next 12 years until Coper left to establish his own studio, but their strong friendship lasted until Coper died in 1981.

Slowly Rie began to establish her reputation not only in England but also abroad. She bought an electric kiln in 1948 which permitted her to develop a much larger range of glaze effects on the earthenware and in a few years porcelain ware as well. A visit to Avebury introduced her to the sgraffito technique which she began adapting to her pots. Leach, who had been critical of her earlier work, was enthusiastic about her new work and was very helpful in not only introducing her work to buyers, but also arranging for her to teach at Camberwell. She continued to show her work, and the London Arts Council exhibition in 1967 marked the recognition of her position in the world of . The next year she received the Order of the British Empire award and the following year was given an honorary doctorate from The Royal College of Art. In 1989 she was named Commander of the British Empire, and in 1990 Dame of the British Empire.

Rie‟s work evolved over the years as well. In the 1960‟s she began making flared bottle forms which were thrown in two pieces. Often they were made using two clays, forming a spiral pattern in the clay. It has been said that “Formally she drew on almost every ceramic tradition but depended on none.”1 A major exhibition of her work was held at the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, and later at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1989 her pots were exhibited along with the fashions of the noted Japanese designer Issey Miyake in Tokyo and Osaka. In 1992 the Arts Council, London, held a retrospective of her work in honor of her 90th birthday, and in 1994 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York honored her with an exhibition of her work and that of Hans Coper.

Lucie Rie suffered a series of strokes beginning in 1990 which prevented her from continuing her career and eventually made her increasingly dependent on others for her care. She had never remarried, and although she had several close friendships over the years, she lived and worked alone at her home in Albion Mews. While she considered herself fully British, she retained her Austrian accent and the formal manners and elegance of her Viennese upbringing. Somewhat stiff and severe with students and people she did not know well, she was warm and very supportive of her close circle of friends. At the end of her life, if was her friends who helped care for her at her home where she died on April 1, 1995, having lived nearly an entire century.

Lucie Rie remained true to her style throughout her life. She was at base a potter, devoted to the wheel and to the functional shapes made on it. From there, however, she followed her own vision rather than prevailing fashion or even accepted “rules.” She used glazes meant for stoneware on earthenware; produced delicate, understated pieces during a time when bigger and bolder was in style; created richly glazed pieces in a single oxidizing firing; and produced a large body of work that is delicate, sculptural, richly glazed, and still fully functional. She is rightly considered an icon of post-war ceramic arts and her work is included in the collections of major museums throughout the world.

1. http://www.waterman.co.uk/pages/biography/15025.html

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY – LUCIE RIE

Books and Catalogs

Birks, Tony, and Lucie Rie. Lucie Rie. Radnor, PA: Chilton Trade Book Pub., 1989, 1987.

British Ceramics Today. Ames, Iowa: The Octagon Center for the Arts, 1980.

Clark, Garth. The Potter’s Art. London: Phaidon, 1995.

Coatts, Margot, Lucie Rie, and Nigel Wood. Lucie Rie: a Crafts Council Exhibition. London: Crafts Council, 1992.

Dauer, Paul F., Peter Hamann, and Maya Nishi. Recollections on the Centennial of the Birth of Lucie Rie. Sacramento, CA: Contemporary Studio Ceramics Services and Consulting, 2002.

Digby, Wingfield, and George Frederick. Lucie Rie. London: Arts Council, 1967.

Dunwell, Michael, and Margaret O‟Rorke. Oxfordshire Visual Arts Festival 1988. Oxford, England: Oxford Craft Guild, 1988.

Elliott, Moyra. Tea with Lucie Rie. Napier, NZ: Hawke‟s Bay Cultural Trust, 2004.

Frankel, Cyril. Modern Pots: Hans Coper, Lucie Rie & Their Contemporaries. Norwich, England: University of East Anglia, 2000.

Jefferies, Susan, and Hans Coper. Ceramic Modernism. Toronto, Canada: Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, 2002.

Keeble, Trevor, and Brenda Martin. The Modern Period Room. London; New York: Routledge, 2006.

Kuyken-Schneider, D. U. Lucie Rie: a Survey of her Life and Work. Norwich, Great Britain: East Anglia. University. Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, 1981.

Linard, Jean-Pierre, Mark Pharis, et al. The MacKenzie Collection: Twentieth-century Studio Ceramics. Minneapolis, MN: University Art Museum, 1987.

Lucie Rie. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982.

Lucie Rie: 90th Birthday Exhibition. London: Galerie Besson, 1992.

Lucie Rie, 1902-19195: a Centenary Celebration. London: Galerie Besson, 2002.

Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, and Their Pupils. Norwich, England: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, 1990.

Lynn, Martha Drexler. Clay Today: Contemporary Ceramists and Their Work. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.

Nine Potters. London: Fischer Fine Art, 1986.

Peterson, Susan. The Craft and Art of Clay. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1992.

Rie, Lucie. Lucie Rie. New York: Babcock Galleries, 1994.

______. Lucie Rie London: Galerie Besson, 1988.

______. Lucie Rie London: Galerie Besson, 1990.

______. Lucie Rie: White Pots. London: Galerie Besson, 1989.

Rie, Lucie, Margot Coatts, Conrad Bodman et al. Lucie Rie & Hans Coper: Potters in Parallel. London: Herbert Press, 1997.

Rie, Lucie, and . Lucie Rie: the Life and Work of Lucie Rie 1902-1995. London: Ceramic Review Pub., 2002

Rie, Lucie, Hans Coper, and J. Stewart Johnson. Lucie Rie/Hans Coper: Masterworks by Two British Potters. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994.

Rie, Lucie, Issei Miyake, and Ikutaro Itoh. Issey Miyake Meets Lucie Rie. Tokyo: Miyake Design Studio, 1989.

Rie, Lucie, Hans Coper, and Angus Stewart. Lucie Rie (1902-1995) – Hans Coper (1920-1981.) London: Galerie Besson, 2006.

Rie, Lucie, John Houston, and David Cripps. Lucie Rie: a Survey of her Life and Work. London: Crafts Council, 1981.

Periodicals

Appelby, Brigitta, David Attenborough, and Alison Britton. “Obituary.” Ceramic Review no. 154 (July/August 1995): 8-21.

Berryman, Larry. “{Crafts Council, Galerie Besson, London.}” Arts Review (London, England) 44 (March 1992): 52-53.

Britton, Alison. “Clay and Asphalt: the Metropolitan World of Rie and Coper.” Ceramic Review no. 163 (January/February 1997): 21-24.

Blackie, Sebastian. “True Character of the Maker.” Ceramics Monthly 43 (June/August 1995): 120.

Cannon, Margaret. “Ceramic Modernism: Hans Coper, Lucie Rie and Their Legacy.” Artichoke 14 no. 4 (Special Edition 2002): 38-41.

Carey, Graham. “Graham Carey Replies.” Crafts (London, England) no. 169 (March/April 2001): 63.

______. “Off Centre: a Column of Dissent.” Ceramic Review no. 136 (July/August 1992): 19.

______. “Understated or Overrated?” Crafts (London, England) no. 165 (July/August 2000): 44-47.

Clegg, Emma. “Gwen John and Lucie Rie.” Ceramic Review 183 (May/June 2000): 42.

Coatts, Margot. “Grace Under Pressure.” Crafts (London, England) no. 115 (March/April 1992): 22-25.

______. “Lucie Rie Centenary Exhibition, Galerie Besson, London.” Crafts (London, England) no. 177 (July/August 2002): 54-55.

Cooper, Emmanuel. “The Critic‟s Eye.” Crafts (London, England) no. 106 (September/October 1990): 20-21.

______. “Lucie Rie.” Ceramic Review no. 134 (March/April 1992): 26-31.

______. “Lucie Rie – Artist Potter.” Ceramic Review no. 100 (July/August 1986): 42-43.

______. “Lucie Rie – Potter.” Ceramic Review no. 72 (November/December 1981): 4-9.

______. “Lucie Rie‟s Notebooks.” Ceramic Review no. 150 (November/December 1994): 28- 37.

______. “Obituary.” Crafts (London, England) no. 134 (May/June 1995): 60-61.

Dauer, Paul F. “Not in my Lifetime.” Ceramics (Sydney, Australia) no. 38 (1999): 51-53.

______. “Responding to Rie.” Crafts (London, England) no. 169 (March/April 2001): 63.

Davenport, Tarby. “Pottery of Lucie Rie.” Design (London, England) no. 226 (October 1967): 52-53.

DeWaal, Edmund. “Modern Things.” Ceramic Review no. 194 (March/April 2002): 18-21.

Finch, Christopher. “Art: Contemporary British Ceramics.” Architectural Digest 52 (January 1995): 118-123+.

Frankel, Cyril. “East Meets West in Contemporary Ceramics.” Oriental Art 40 (Winter 1994- 1995): 42-45.

Hale, Sheila. “Simple Genius.” Connoisseur 215 (June 1985): 126-130+.

Harrod, Tanya. “Dame Lucie Rie 1902-1995.” Crafts (London, England) no. 135 (July/August 1995): 42-47.

Hill, Rosemary. “Six of the Best.” Crafts (London, England) no. 106 (September/October 1990): 16-19.

Hoggard, Liz. “Potters in Parallel.” Crafts (London, England) no. 144 (January/February 1997): 10.

Houston, John. “Lucie Rie, Hans Coper and Their Pupils.” Crafts (London, England) no. 109 (March/April 1991): 51-52.

______. “Lucie Rie Talks to John Houston.” Connoisseur 208 (December 1981): 252.

Hoving, Thomas. “Serene Genius.” Connoisseur 219 (November 1989): 144-151.

Ismay, W. A. “Lucie Rie at 85.” Ceramic Review no. 110 (March/April 1988): 16-22.

Jones, Derek. “Lucie Rie in Tokyo.” Ceramics Monthly 37 (November 1989): 25-27.

Koplos, Janet. “Issey Miyake Meets Lucie Rie.” Crafts (London, England) no. 100 (September/October 1989): 51-52.

______. “Lucie Rie & Hans Coper at the Metropolitan Museum, Babcock, Garth Clark and Nancy Margolies.” Art in America 83 (April 1995): 111.

“Lucie Rie.” Design Quarterly no. 39 (1957): 20-23.

“Lucie Rie at Ninety.” Ceramics Monthly 40 (June/August 1992): 12.

Lucie-Smith, Edward. “{Crafts Council Gallery, London.}” Crafts (London, England) no. 116 (May/June 1992): 50-51.

McElroy, Gil. “Ceramic Modernism.” Ceramics (Sydney, Australia) no. 50 (2002): 83-86.

Moncrieff, Elspeth. “Hans Coper and Lucie Rie.” Apollo (London, England) 145 (January 1997): 51.

______. “The Only Artist Ever to Reach the Level of the Early Chinese.” Art Newspaper 8 (April 1997): 42.

Ottillinger, Eva B. “Home Again.” Crafts (London, England) no. 170 (May/June 2001): 34-37.

Petrie, Kevin. “Classic Ceramics – Masterpieces of Studio Pottery.” Ceramic Review no. 213 (May/June 2005): 57.

Portal, Jane. “A Korean Porcelain „Full Moon‟ Jar.” Apollo (London, England) 150 no. 453 (November 1999): 36-37.

“Pottery in Porcelain.” Craft Horizons 15 (January 1955): 36-39.

Queensberry, David. “Plastic Art in Its Most Abstract Essence.” Ceramic Review no. 127 (January/February 1991): 14-15.

Reid, C. “Lucie Rie.” Crafts (London, England) no. 53 (November/December 1981) 34-39.

Rena, Nic. “Modern Pots: Hans Coper, Lucie Rie and Their Contemporaries.” Crafts (London, England) no. 194 (May/June 2005): 63-64.

Sewter, Albert Charles. “Lucie Rie – Potter.” Apollo (London, England) 59 (February 1954): 40- 41.

Sexton, David. “Lucie Rie and Hans Coper: Potters in Parallel.” Crafts (London, England) no. 146 (May/June 1997): 51.

“Twentieth Century Classics.” Ceramic Review no. 212 (March/April 2005): 17.

Williams, Gerry. “Lucie Rie/Hans Coper: Masterworks by two British Potters.” American Craft 55 (June/July 1995): 42-47.

Worthington, Caroline. “Pots of Praise: British Studio Pottery.” Museums Journal 105 no. 9 (September 2005): 34-35.

Video and Other Media

Lockyer, Bob, Stephen Davies, et al. “Best of British.” London: BBC, 1982. VHS

“Lucie Rie.” London: BBC Videos for Education and Training, 1982. VHS

GALLERY REPRESENTATION – LUCIE RIE

Garth Clark Gallery, 24 West 57 Street, Suite 305, New York, New York 10019

Galerie Besson, 15 Royale Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4SP, England

WEB SITES – LUCIE RIE http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/ceramics/points_of_view/pots/rie/index.html Victoria and Albert Museum web site; 6 people respond to “Teapot and Jug” made by Dame Lucie Rie in approximately 1936. http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/ho/11/euwb/ho_RL.13.1998.5.5,6.htm Metropolitan Museum of Art Rie and Coper bowl http://www.criticalceramics.org/reviews/shows/riecoper.shtml “Extracting Essence: Less is More.” Article by Forrest Snyder. http://www.garthclark.com/Artist-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=52&Object= Lucie Rie information at Garth Clark Gallery site http://www.ceramics-aberystwyth.com/lucie-rie.html Brief biography of Lucie Rie http://www.ruffordcraftcentre.org.uk/ceramic/history/hist3.htm Essay on Lucie Rie and Hans Coper by http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.13445 Article about English Heritage Blue Plaque established for Lucie Rie http://www.theceramicartist.com/displayi.asp?mainid=1&select=219 Resume/biography of Lucie Rie http://www.frankpishkur.com/lecture2.doc Essay on British potters including Rie and Coper http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/6685.aspx Article about Leach and Rie fakes. Antiques Trade Gazette, May 6, 2008. http://www.godsonandcoles.co.uk/rie.htm Biography of Rie http://www.uwic.ac.uk/ICRC/issue005/keepingquiet.htm Article “Keeping Quiet and Finding a Voice: Ceramics and the Art of Silence.” By Jeffrey Jones. Appeared in Interpreting Ceramics: issue 5. http://www.vads.ac.uk/results.php?cmd=search&words=%22lucie+rie%22&mode=boolean Link to VADS on-line art resource with numerous archived materials on Lucie Rie

June 2008