Alfred and Louise POWELL

View in collection Alfred Powell was an architect and designer associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. He studied architecture at the Slade School of Fine Art before serving in the office of the Arts and Crafts architect J.D. Sedding, 1887-92. He then worked as a painter and furniture maker on the continent before moving to Gloucestershire in 1901 where he joined the Cotswold Group with Sidney and Ernest Barnsley and Ernest Gimson. From 1903 Alfred began designing and painting ceramic decoration for Wedgwood & Sons Ltd. In 1906 he married Louise Lessore who was from a distinguished artistic family with strong connections with Wedgwood. She had studied calligraphy and illumination at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Thereafter they frequently worked collaboratively. They had studios in London and the Cotswolds where they hand painted Wedgwood unglazed pottery blanks with designs which combined calligraphy with motifs of stylised flowers and animals. The pottery was then sent to Wedgwood for glazing and final firing. They trained paintresses in Wedgwood's Etruria factory, creating a revival in free-hand painting and Alfred also designed a selection of standard shapes. The under-glaze decoration is difficult to do correctly as, unlike over-glaze design, it cannot be wiped off if a mistake is made.

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• Dates: Alfred Powell 1865-1960, Louise Powell 1865-1956