Robert Welch (silversmith)

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Robert Welch (1929-2000) is one of Britain's most important and influential silversmiths. His style helped define British modernism.

He trained as a silversmith at Birmingham College of Art, where he met and later married a fellow student, Patricia Hinksman. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in 1952. As a student, he made two extended visits to Scandinavia, studying in Stockholm and working with a Norwegian silversmith. Scandinavian modernism made a huge impression on Welch, giving him a love of functional precision and the clean line.

In his final year at RCA, Welch did some work for J&J Wiggin, a small family firm in Bloxwich, north of Birmingham. J&J Wiggin was the only British manufacturer of stainless steel tableware, marketing pieces under the brand Old Hall. In 1955, Welch was appointed Wiggin's design consultant, an association which lasted until the firm closed down in 1984.

Welch is probably best known for the Alveston tableware range, named after his home near Stratford. Designed in 1962. Alveston is a masterfully designed range, composed of elegant curves and beautifully considered planes. This design is considered to be one of Welch's best work, and won the prestigious Design Council award in 1965.