Brian Asquith – British Silversmithing Pioneer and Designer

Brian Asquith (1930 – 2008) was one of the principal figures in British silversmithing during the 20th century, now regarded as the industry’s heroic age. In the bleak aftermath of the Second World War, there was a growing perception that the revival of the British manufacturing economy depended on an ever-closer integration with the visual arts. There were exciting opportunities for those pursuing fine art or traditional crafts careers. Asquith and other contemporaries such as David Mellor, Gerald Benney and Robert Welch successfully straddled designing for the craft studio and the mass production of consumer goods.

Education

He studied at Sheffield College of Art, 1942-47 and studied sculpture under Frank Dobson and John Skeaping at the Royal College of Art, London, ARCA, 1951.

Biography

He was a partner with David Mellor, metalware and product design workshop and office, Sheffield, 1955-60; established his own design office, Sheffield, 1960-63, and Youlgreave, Derbyshire, from 1963; has designed for Redfyre, Spear and Jackson, British Airways, L.B. Plastics, Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, International Tennis Federation, the Post Office, Baxi Heating, Renold Engineering, the Royal Family, and others.

Member

Liveryman of The Goldsmiths Company; Society of Industrial Artists and Designers (fellow, 1965); Royal Society of Art (fellow); Chartered Society of Designers (fellow); Crafts Council.

Exhibitions

• Hand and Machine, Design Centre, London, 1965;
• British Goldsmiths, Lincoln Centre, New York, 1968;
• British Modern Crafts Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan, 1970;
• Brian Asquith Silver, St. Michaels Gallery, Derby Cathedral, 1973 (travelled);
• Loot, Goldsmiths Hall, London, 1974, 1975, 1976;
• Silver from Derbyshire, Foyles Gallery, London, 1977;
• Lichfield Commission, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1991;
• International Gift Show, San Fran- cisco, 1993; 20th Century Silver, Crafts Council, London, 1993;
• Silver Trust National Collection, Garrard and Co., London, 1994;
• Silver Trust New York Exhibition, Christie’s, New York, 1995. 

Sources

Pendergast, S. (1997). Contemporary Designers. St. James Press.

More British Designers

More links

• Brian O’Rorke (1901 – 1974) New Zealand architect and interior designer
• Silver and twentieth-century design
• Exhibition NY – Brian Clarke: The Art of Light
• The Brilliance of Swedish Glass, 1918-1939: An Alliance of Art and Industry
• Industrial Design in the Modern Age