May Davis

May Beatrice Davis
Born May Beatrice Scott
30 March 1914
Manchester, England
Died 13 January 1995
Nationality English
Education Leach Pottery, Cornwall
Known for Pottery
Spouse(s) Harry Davis (m. 1938)

May Beatrice Davis (née Scott, 30 March 1914 – 13 January 1995) was an English-New Zealand potter.[1]

Biography

Born in Manchester, Lancashire, England in 1914,[2] Davis studied at Salford Art School and was taught basic pottery skills by Muriel Bell.[3] In 1936 she began working at Leach Pottery in Cornwall under David Leach, where she met Harry Davis.[4] They married in London in 1938, and she joined him in Ghana, where he was employed by Crown Agents for the Colonies as Head of Art at Achimota College, Accra.[1][4] In 1946, they established the Crowan Pottery in Cornwall.[5]

Harry and May Davis after their arrival in New Zealand, August 1962

They moved to Nelson, New Zealand, in 1962 and set up the Crewenna Pottery in nearby Wakapuaka.[6] Between 1972 and 1979 they lived in Izcuchaca District, Peru, establishing a pottery workshop in a small community as part of an aid project.[7] They returned to New Zealand in 1979.

Collections

Their work is included in the collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the ceramic collection of Prifysgol Aberystwyth University in Wales.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Blumhardt, Doreen (1981). Craft New Zealand: The art of the craftsman. Auckland: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 220. ISBN 0589013432.
  2. ↑ "Register of persons granted New Zealand citizenship 1969–1977". Ancestry.com. 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ "May Davis". Philoliver. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 "May DAVIS". Cornwall Artists Index. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Cape, Peter (1969). Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand. Auckland, London: Collins. pp. 37–39.
  6. ↑ "Nelson Pottery". The Prow. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Harry and May DAVIS". Prifysgol Aberystwyth University Ceramic Collection and Archive. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Untitled [Harry and May Davis, Crewenna Pottery dish]". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
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