Bernard Leach

Born 1887 – Died 1979
Leach was born in Hong Kong of British parents and grew up in Japan. At the age of ten he moved to Great Britain for schooling. In 1909 he returned to Japan where he worked as an etcher. Having decided to turn to pottery, he moved back to England: in 1920 he set up with Shoji Hamada the Leach Pottery in St. Ives. Initially his works were influenced by Oriental traditions, but gradually he drew upon a wider range of sources including English slipware, medieval pots and tiles, Minoan and pre-Columbian work. His work, unlike Staite Murray’s, remained largely functional, although it was often consciously experimental.