Wedgwood's artists
Wedgwood was active in commissioning artists and sculptors - both established and new talents - to create designs for his wares. In doing so he founded a tradition that has remained company practice into modern times. His newly-discovered bodies opened up design possibilities in an unprecedented way, with potential for specialisation among craftsmen.
Josiah employed a number of talented modellers - most notably William Hackwood and later Henry Webber - to work at Etruria. They prepared the work of free lance artists, purchased for the purpose, for ceramic production. Josiah used motifs by eminent artists such as Thomas Stothard and Sir Joshua Reynolds, and architect Sir William Chambers. The adaptation of their ideas by the modellers into bas-relief decoration on jasper maintained Wedgwood's position as market leader. It appeared on plaques, medallions and vases, plates and teapots, trinkets, jewellery and coffee sets. The depiction of children playing at the serious activities of adults, some of which were adapted from the paintings of Reynolds, were particularly popular. John Flaxman Jr was probably the most eminent modeller to produce work specifically for the production of ornamental wares by Wedgwood.
Classical themes continued to play a central decorative role, but Wedgwood was prepared to diversify, follow other consumer trends when commissioning works in the Romantic style. These showed a marked sentimentality of concept and design, and appealed particularly to female taste, an increasingly important aspect of his business. Josiah used women to create these, with such artists as Elizabeth, Lady Templetown, Emma Crewe and Lady Diana Beauclerk contributing popular and long-lasting designs.
