Keith Murray (ceramic artist)
Encyclopedia
Keith Day Pearce Murray was a New Zealand
born architect and designer who worked as a ceramics
, glass and metalware designer for Wedgwood
in the Potteries
area of Staffordshire
in the 1930s and 1940s. He is considered one of the most influential designers of the Art deco
style.
Murray was born in the Auckland
suburb of Mt Eden. His father, John Murray was from Scotland and his mother Lillian was from Nelson, New Zealand. The family emigrated to England when he was 14. He graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1921. However a lack of work forced him to make a living as an illustrator for magazines. In 1928 he held his own show at Le Levre Gallery in London but this was not to prove his passion.
His visits to exhibitions such as the 1925 Exposition in Paris, and the 1931 Exhibition of Swedish Industrial Art in London inspired Murray to seek out opportunities to design vases and tablewares for factory production, and as the depression
of the early 1930s further reduced the demand for architecture he became a full-time designer.
Murray first approached Arthur Marriott Powell about the possibility of working in Whitefriars Glass in London. Though his ideas proved unsuitable for their style of glass, he worked as a freelance designer at Stevens & Williams of Brierley Hill in the West Midlands in 1932. The trial pieces were shown in London that year and the 'Keith Murray range' was produced. Between 1932 and 1939 he produced over 1200 designs though many were only issued in quantities of six or twelve. In 1932 he also began working 2–3 months a year for the Wedgwood pottery. His designs in metal were created for Mappin and Webb
.
Most of his work was with vases, bowls and similar cylindrical ware, executed in a clean and restrained style with decoration often limited to deeply incised lines or smooth steps in the shape. The whole piece is usually one colour without applied decoration. From the beginning Murray's stature as a designer was recognised as every piece bore his signature above the prestigious Wedgwood mark.
In 1936 Keith Murray was appointed architect in charge of designing the new Wedgwood factory at Barlaston, Staffordshire. Following the war he returned to architecture and left the field of industrial design.
Keith Murray's work sold well at the time, and has become increasingly sought after as time has passed.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
born architect and designer who worked as a ceramics
Ceramics (art)
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, glass and metalware designer for Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
in the Potteries
Potteries
Potteries may refer to:* Pottery, or pottery manufacturing* The Stoke-on-Trent area, known as the Staffordshire Potteries after its once-important ceramics industry...
area of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
in the 1930s and 1940s. He is considered one of the most influential designers of the Art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style.
Murray was born in the Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
suburb of Mt Eden. His father, John Murray was from Scotland and his mother Lillian was from Nelson, New Zealand. The family emigrated to England when he was 14. He graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1921. However a lack of work forced him to make a living as an illustrator for magazines. In 1928 he held his own show at Le Levre Gallery in London but this was not to prove his passion.
His visits to exhibitions such as the 1925 Exposition in Paris, and the 1931 Exhibition of Swedish Industrial Art in London inspired Murray to seek out opportunities to design vases and tablewares for factory production, and as the depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
of the early 1930s further reduced the demand for architecture he became a full-time designer.
Murray first approached Arthur Marriott Powell about the possibility of working in Whitefriars Glass in London. Though his ideas proved unsuitable for their style of glass, he worked as a freelance designer at Stevens & Williams of Brierley Hill in the West Midlands in 1932. The trial pieces were shown in London that year and the 'Keith Murray range' was produced. Between 1932 and 1939 he produced over 1200 designs though many were only issued in quantities of six or twelve. In 1932 he also began working 2–3 months a year for the Wedgwood pottery. His designs in metal were created for Mappin and Webb
Mappin and Webb
Mappin & Webb is a company originally founded in Sheffield, England. The company is a noted firm of Silversmiths and formerly cutlery manufactures with roots back to 1774 when Joseph Mappin founded the firm. The company is now a retail jeweller, and Royal Warrant holder.-Arundel & Mappin:The firm...
.
Most of his work was with vases, bowls and similar cylindrical ware, executed in a clean and restrained style with decoration often limited to deeply incised lines or smooth steps in the shape. The whole piece is usually one colour without applied decoration. From the beginning Murray's stature as a designer was recognised as every piece bore his signature above the prestigious Wedgwood mark.
In 1936 Keith Murray was appointed architect in charge of designing the new Wedgwood factory at Barlaston, Staffordshire. Following the war he returned to architecture and left the field of industrial design.
Keith Murray's work sold well at the time, and has become increasingly sought after as time has passed.
List of works
- Works by Keith Murray from the collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- Works by Keith Murray from the collection of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
Further reading
- Helen Cunningham, Clarice Cliff and Her Contemporaries: Susie Cooper, Keith Murray, Charlotte Rhead, and the Carlton Ware Designers, Schiffer (1999), ISBN 0764307061
- Murray, Keith Day Pearce (1892–1981). In: H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Vol.12, pp. 76–77 & vol.39, pp. 968–970. ISBN 019861411X
See also
- Clarice CliffClarice CliffClarice Cliff was an English ceramic industrial artist active from 1922 to 1963.Cliff was born in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England.- Early life :...
- Susie CooperSusie CooperSusie Cooper was a prolific English ceramic designer working in the Stoke-on-Trent pottery industries from the 1920s to the 1980s.-Life and work:Born in Stanfields, Stoke-on-Trent, she was the youngest of seven children...
- Charlotte RheadCharlotte RheadCharlotte Rhead was an English ceramics designer active in the 1920s and the 1930s in the Potteries area of Staffordshire.Charlotte Rhead was born into an artistic family...