John Adams: British Ceramicist and Designer (1882 – 1953)

British Ceramicist

John Adams (1882 – 1953) was a British ceramicist and Designer. He was professionally active in London, Durban, Poole, and Dorset (England). He was the husband of Gertrude Sharpe.

Education

He studied at the Hanley School of Art and, in 1908, the Royal College of Art, London.

Biography

He spent his early years in stock on Trent. From 1895 to 1902, he worked in the studio of Bernard Moore, which specialised in producing plain and painted ceramics with effects through reduction–fired glazes. He married a fellow student, Gertrude Sharpe, at the Royal College of Art. Between 1912 and 1914, he was the head of the School of Art at Durban Technical College. Between 1921 and 1950 (with Cyril Carter and Harold Stabler), he set up Carter, Stabler and Adams. Here, Adams designed almost all the shapes for its decorative and domestic ware, including the 1936 Streamline Table. He experimented with and produced high-temperature crackle–finish and other glazes.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

More Ceramicists

Related Articles

• Adam Green: A Vintage Palette
• The Adams Family Name and English Potters
• Ansel Adams – Attention to Detail is Everything
• The Evolution of Animal Motifs in English Furniture Design
• Ralph Adams Cram: A Luminary in Gothic Revival Architecture