Leach Pottery
The studio founded by Bernard Leach in 1920, and known to many as the birthplace of British studio pottery.
Similar studio museums...
- Maison Atelier Foujita, France - the final home of Japanese-French artist Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968), fusing European and Japanese styles
- Porthmeor Studios, UK - a working St Ives studio with a history including links with Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) and Patrick Heron (1920-1999)
Feature List
- Guided Tours
- Family activities
- Temporary exhibitions
Bernard Leach (1887-1979) was born in Hong Kong and spent large parts of his life travelling in China and Japan, where he was first inspired to explore studio pottery by witnessing the high-temperature raku firing process. He established the Leach Pottery in St Ives, which included a climbing and raku kiln in the 1920s; over the next few decades he experimented relentlessly with new studio pottery methods, and fostered and collaborated with several generations of potters, including his third wife Janet Leach (1918-1997) and his lifelong creative partner Shoji Hamada (1894-1978).
In 2005, the Leach Pottery was purchased by Penwith District Council as part of the Leach Restoration Project, and it opened, managed by the Bernard Leach (St Ives) Trust Ltd, in 2008. Today, the site includes a museum dedicated to Leach's life and work, along with an exhibition and gallery space showcasing work by leading regional, national and international studio potters.
