Public Lecture Course | Ceramics in Britain
This spring at the Mellon Centre:
Public Lecture Course, Ceramics in Britain, 1750 to Now
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, London, Thursdays, 5 March — 2 April 2020
Registration opens 3 February 2020
While the story of ceramics is a global one, Britain has played a leading role in the last three centuries, a period in which British invention has shaped developments and brought constant renewal to the industry. This course, delivered by experts in the subject, will explore five key influential developments in the history of British ceramics since the mid-eighteenth century, examining the multiple ways in which innovators, entrepreneurs and artists have reinvigorated the field. No prior art historical knowledge is necessary. There will be a brief drinks reception from 6:30 to 7:00pm. The lectures will begin promptly at 7:00pm.
Registration will open on 3 February at 10:00am on the Paul Mellon Centre website. Please note you will need to sign up for each week individually and in order to ensure consistency attendance, we overbook. If you find you can no longer attend after signing up, please let us know so your place can be offered to someone else. On the night, admission will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Thursday, 5 March
Patricia Ferguson (Project Curator, British Museum), Pots with Attitude: British Satire on Ceramics, 1750–1820
Thursday, 12 March
Catrin Jones (Chief Curator, Wedgwood Museum), Josiah Wedgwood: Experimentation and Innovation
Thursday, 19 March
Rebecca Wallis (Curator, National Trust, London and South East), ‘Blue China’: A Nineteenth-Century British Obsession
Thursday, 26 March
Simon Olding (Director of the Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham), ‘Beyond East and West’: The Founding of British Studio Ceramics
Thursday, 2 April
Neil Brownsword (Artist and Professor of Ceramics, Staffordshire University), Obsolescence and Renewal: Reimagining North Staffordshire’s Ceramic Heritage
New Book | Built in Chelsea
Distributed in the USA and Canada by The University of Chicago Press:
Dan Cruickshank, Built in Chelsea: Three Centuries of Living Architecture and Townscape (London: Unicorn Publishing, 2020), 128 pages, ISBN: 978-1911604969, $30.
Among the myriad London districts, Chelsea has always held a special charm for residents and visitors alike. Spacious and gracious, with the River Thames as its dramatic background, it has played host to a unique history of artists, bohemians, and related civil causes.
Over the course of twelve chapters, Built in Chelsea: Three Centuries of Living Architecture and Townscape offers readers an opportunity to learn about key episodes of the area’s history. By using the region’s buildings and structures to mark the stages of change, it connects what can be physically seen on the street with the more hidden histories of the architects, patrons, and people who have made their lives in the area.
Author and architectural historian Dan Cruickshank points to the most crucial Chelsea locales—ranging from churches to military establishments, theaters to restaurants, and housing and shops—allowing readers to feel virtually at home. Cruickshank also notes how the spaces between buildings can be just as important as the buildings themselves. He shows how in recent years some exemplary regeneration projects have taken shape because Chelsea has had the benefit of landowners with long-term interests. Due to their unobtrusive management, Chelsea’s proprietors have improved the experiences of both residents and visitors, creating a model for districts elsewhere in London and beyond.
Dan Cruickshank is an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The author of many books on British architecture, he has also made numerous well-received programs for the BBC, including Around the World in 80 Treasures, Adventures in Architecture, Britain’s Best Buildings, The Country House Revealed: The Intimate Histories of Britain’s Private Palaces, and Bridges That Built London.
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