Potter Dora Billington is one of those ladies who probably doesn’t get as much credit as she is due. She was a contemporary of Bernard Leach and William Staite Murray. While studying pottery at Royal College of Art, London, she excelled beyond her peers and began teaching in the department. When she left RCA, she continued her teaching career at Central Saint Martins where she elevated the ceramics department, and continued teaching and creating for the majority of her career.
Feature Photo: Dora Billington at a modeling workshop in 1936
We remember Billington for her books The Art of the Potter and The Technique of Pottery (which she wrote right before she died). In 1950, Billington famously stated to a classroom “Craftsmanship alone is not enough,” words that have resounded through generations, and effectively thrusted ceramics into fine art. These words remain especially poignant in the Ceramic Design department at Central Saint Martins, where students are bound by “material curiosity”, says Anthony Quinn, course leader at Central.
The following list of artists are a few alumni documented in a catalog from Central Saint Martins, now available in cfile.campus. If you are a member, view the catalog, or begin your 30-day free trial.
Agalis Manessi
Alison Britton
Alison Britton, Outpour, 2012, courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Fredrikson Stallard
Fredrikson Stallard, Rock, 2016
This is just a few of the artists in the catalog. If you would like to see the rest of the catalog, view the catalog, or begin your 30-day free trial of cfile.campus.
Maybe I didn’t search long enough but I’m surprised not to see any of my mother’s work here. She was Ann Clark (nee Wynn Reeves) and studied at the Central School under Dora Billington and my father Kenneth Clark in the early 1950s. As you may know, her work is now very collectable and appears in the permanent collection at the V&A. Do get back to me if you’d like any further information about her.
Great to see your article about Craftsmanship is not enough, the centenary ceramics show at Central Saint Martins and thanks for including one of my pieces. Just a few corrections though; the name is Dora Billington not Billingham and on the last paragraph Central Sain Martins changes to Central Saint Mathews!
Hope you can correct.