Gordon Forsyth
Gordon Mitchell Forsyth (1879–1952) was a Scottish ceramic designer and fine artist and art education innovator.
Biography
[edit | edit source]Born in Fraserburgh, he attended the Gray's School of Art, in Aberdeen and the Royal College of Art. Moving in 1903 to Stoke-on-Trent, he became art director of the tileworks Minton Hollins & Co, where he began a career which "spanned over forty years and left an indelible mark on the ceramic industry of Staffordshire.".[1] In 1906 he moved to take the same position at Pilkington's Tile & Pottery Company near Manchester. He returned to Pilkington's after service in the First World War. However, in 1920 he became Superintendent of Art Instruction in Stoke-on-Trent, a role which involved responsibility for several art schools.[2] Forsyth was the tutor of a number of notable students at the Burslem School of Art including Susie Cooper,[3] Glyn Colledge, Clarice Cliff, Charlotte Rhead, Arthur Berry, and Mabel Leigh.[4] At that time, Forsyth was described as a "pottery designer, educator and writer...and one of the main spokespersons on industrial pottery design."[5] And the pivotal role he played in British ceramic design has inspired some to call him "the magus of the mid-twentieth century pottery industry."[6]
Stained glass
[edit | edit source]Forsyth is best known for his work in ceramics, particularly lustreware. However, he did work in other media, notably stained glass: he designed stained glass windows for St Joseph's Roman Catholic church in Burslem in the late 1920s.[7]
Forsyth's daughter Moira (1905–91), who also worked on the decoration of the church, had a successful career as a glass designer.[8][9]
Published works
[edit | edit source]- Gordon Mitchell Forsyth, Joseph William Mellor & H. J. Plant, Introduction to Sympsium on Art, Stoke-on-Trent: Webberley, 1921
- Gordon Mitchell Forsyth, Art in the Pottery Industry, no date
- Gordon Mitchell Forsyth, The Art and Craft of the Potter, London: Chapman & Hall, 1934
- Gordon Mitchell Forsyth, M. P. Bisson, F. Jefferson Graham, W. Hartley, Pottery, Clay Modelling, and Plaster Casting, Sir I. Pitman & Sons Ltd. (in two volumes), 1935
- Gordon Mitchell Forsyth, 20th Century Ceramics: an International Survey of the Best Work Produced by Modern Craftsmen, Artists and Manufacturers, The Studio Ltd, 1936
See also
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]- Stoke-on-Trent Museums: Gordon Forsyth
- Examples of Gordon Forsyth's works at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
- Examples of Gordon Forsyth's works at the Victoria & Albert Museum
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Anne Eatwell, Artists as Educators, The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1850 to the present, Number 13 (1989)
- ^ Gordon Forsyth
- ^ Andrew Casey, Elegance with Utility: The work of Susie Cooper (1902-1995)
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Jerry Palmer & Mo Dodson, Design and Aesthetics: a Reader, London: Routledge, 1995, p.210
- ^ S. Beddoe, Potters and Paintresses: Women Designers in the Pottery Industry 1870–1955, Jnl Design History (1990) 3 (2-3): 197-198
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Father and daughter left legacy to Mother Town, The Sentinel, 20 December 2008
- ^ Sussex parish churches, re Moira & Gordon Forsyth Archived 9 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine
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