Vase with matt green glaze - 1935
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Vase with matt green glaze
© Wedgwood Museum
Keith Murray was the most influential designer to be employed by Wedgwood in the 20th century. Vases such as this represent the marked change from art deco to modernism with its solid, simple form and matt glaze. An architect by profession, Murray brought to ceramics the same solidity which he brought to the buildings he designed.
Keith Murray had a huge effect on 20th century Wedgwood and this vase shows just one aspect of that influence. An architect by profession he was first employed by Wedgwood as a freelance designer in 1932 when the jazzy art deco style was giving way to the much calmer, simpler trend of modernism. By 1935, Murray had developed an extensive range of tableware and vases exhibited at venues such as the Royal Academy and John Lewis. He also designed surface patterns but it was for his attention to form that he is best celebrated. Most of his vase shapes were thrown on the wheel and turned on the lathe, in the traditional manner of the potter, giving them the solid, simplified appearance that was so popular in the 1930’s.The final touch, placing Murray firmly at the helm of modernism was the addition of matt glazes, including the one shown here, designed by Norman Wilson.
- Type of object: Ornamental ware/vase
- Mark: Keith Murray (in script) WEDGWOOD MADE IN ENGLAND [Printed in green]
- Year first produced: 1935
- Body: Queen's ware and cream-coloured earthenware
- Glaze: Clear glaze
- Material: Ceramic
- Decoration: Glazed
- Accession number: 11450
- Dimensions: 236 mm (height), 220 mm (diameter)
Related people
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Keith Murray
Designer
Keith Murray - Designer
Born in New Zealand, Murray later graduated from the Architecture Association School of Art in London in 1921. Unable to find architectural employment, he turned his attention instead to the design of silver, ceramics and glass. Keith Murray is one of the stars of Wedgwood’s 20th-century design story. First employed on a free lance basis in 1932, three years later, he had designed a number of surface patterns and an enormous range of tableware and ornamental shapes - many of which would remain in production until well into the 1950s. The establishment of Murray’s style signalled the beginning of Modernism and a design renaissance for Wedgwood. Only a few years previously in 1930, the next generation of Wedgwoods had taken the helm with with many new notions of how the business should succeed. Most significantly, the decision had been taken to relocate the entire factory from Etruria to a new green-field site at Barlaston. Keith Murray and his partner, CS White, were invited to be the architects for the challenge. In preparation, Murray and Works Manager, Norman Wilson (also responsible for the glazes which enhanced the modernistic appearance of his work) journeyed around America casting a critical eye over the most up-to-date manufacturing plants. When Murray admired spacial features, Wilson demanded to know what manufacturing equipment would economically fit the space. Finally, the building was complete – ultra-modern, all-electric, concrete-clad and with all the facilities required for a healthy working life in the pottery industry. Murray and Josiah V had developed such a close relationship that each became godfather to the other’s child and Murray was almost accepted as an honorary Wedgwood. The experience taught Murray much about the social obligations of architecture. In the late 1940s, in collaboration with various others, he went on to specialise in the construction of airport, commercial and industrial architecture.
