Burslem School of Art

Burslem School of Art is located in Burslem in the Potteries district of England. Pottery has been made on the site of the school since the Middle Ages. However, the art school originated in 1853. In the nineteenth century each of the towns making up the (future) city of Stoke-on-Trent founded its own art school, the Burslem school moving into the Wedgwood Institute when it was completed in the 1860s.

In the early twentieth century (c.1905) the school was provided with a new building with large windows (designed by Wood, a local architect), and this purpose-built accommodation helped it become pre-eminent in the district.

Gordon Forsyth, a gifted designer, [http://www.search.exploringthepotteries.org.uk/engine/theme/default.asp?theme=597&text=0] was principal of the Stoke-on-Trent Art Schools in the period 1920-44 and taught at Burslem School of Art. Reginald Haggar, who was Minton's art director in the 1930s, was the Master-in-Charge of the Burslem School of Art from 1941 to 1945. Other notable staff members included Arthur Berry.

At the time of the foundation of North Staffordshire Polytechnic in 1971, Burslem School of Art was one of three sites used by the Stoke-on-Trent College of Art. However, the department of Fine Art was subsequently moved from Burslem to the Polytechnic's College Road site, thus leaving the historic Burslem building somewhat underused. The School of Art was listed in 1993 [http://www.thepotteries.org/listed/21a.html] , and in recent years the building has undergone something of renaissance with use for studios and exhibitions.

Notable Alumni

*Arthur Berry artist and playwright, Berry also taught at his alma mater
*William Bowyer (artist)
*Clarice Cliff ceramic designer
*Susie Cooper ceramic designer
*Charles Tomlinson poet and artist
*Sidney Tushingham etcher
*Jessie Tait ceramic designer

External links

* [http://www.schoolofart.co.uk/main/index.html Burslem School of Art Website]