Draft:Robert J Washington

Early life and education
Washington was born to copper plate engraver, etcher, painter and later head of Hammersmith School of Art, William Washington, After his school years at Dulwich College, he found himself studying drawing and painting at Goldsmiths' College, in the early 1930’s. Initially, Washington continued to study painting at the Royal College of Art (RCA). After approximately seven years in the painting school, Washington transitioned to the Pottery department, under the tutelage of William Staite Murray. Washington was fascinated by surface decoration and experimentation, so he attended classes with Dora Billington to study glaze technology at Central School of Art and Crafts in the evenings. Washington honed his craft in the pottery department.

Career
Washington's teaching career at Derby College of Art was severely interrupted by his service during WWII.However, after the war, he resumed his role as a ceramics lecturer at Derby. Washington later served as the principal of Dewsbury and Margate Schools of Art, all while maintaining an active studio that produced ceramics influenced by Murray but bearing Washington's unique interpretative flair.

Washington's appointment as Her Majesty’s Inspector for Art Education for Essex County Education Committee, marked a new chapter in his career, which lasted thirty years.

The 1950’s, significant funding for the building of new schools and colleges was allocated from the Labour government. Washington sat with Inspectors of Science, Maths, English etc., always managing to obtain a healthy budget for Art. Washington liaised with architects and engineers to build all the art departments in the schools and colleges throughout Essex. Appointing heads of departments, he taught the teachers at weekend workshops, which he organised.

His retirement in 1979 provided fresh opportunities for a creative renaissance with clay. Known for his tall, thrown bottle forms with a pronounced anthropomorphic element, Washington's work showcased spiky (cubist style) painted decoration depicting female and male figures, adding a surrealistic edge to his creations.

In 1988, he staged a solo exhibition at the Anatol Orient gallery in London, introducing a series of large platters featuring imaginative imagery and innovative surface treatments. The theme for these large platters was “The Elements”. In the early 1980’s Washington’s work was also exhibited at Paul Rice, London.

Washington's curiosity about ceramics led him to explore cratered and textured glazes, firing all sorts of non traditional materials and integrating these effects into his art.

One of Washington's contributions to ceramics was to continue the fight for its recognition as fine art and it would have been interesting to see how he would have developed his talents had he devoted his life to ceramics

Personal life
Robert Johnson Washington married Marjorie Terry in 1939, and they had one son. After Marjorie's death in 1996, Washington married Su Lupasco, and the couple had one daughter.

Washington died on 17 November 1997, in Colchester Essex.

Selected bibliography:
Arts Council of Great Britain. The Thirties, London 1979;

Garth Clarke The Potter Art; A complete History of Pottery in Britain, London and Oxford (Phaidon Press) 1995;

C. Wingfield Digby The work of the Modern Potters in England, London (Murray), 1952;

Peter Dormer (ed) The New Ceramics: Trends and Traditions, London (Thames and Hudson), revised edition, 1996;

Malcolm Haslam William Staite Murray, London (Crafts Council) 1984;

Peter Lane Ceramic Form: Design and Decoration, London (Collins) 1988;

Paul Rice British Studio Ceramics, London (Barry & Jenkins) 1989;

Oliver Watson British Studio Pottery: The Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, Oxford and London (Phaidon in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum), 1990.

Articles:
Abigail Frost " William Staite Murray, R. J. Washington", Arts Review, Vol.xxxvii no.5, 15 March 1985;

"R.J Washington", Ceramics Monthly, U.S.A., September 1988;

Emmamuel Cooper, "Robert Washington" [obituary], The Independent, 26th November 1997;

Paul Rice, "R. J. Washington, Potter who got fired up" [obituary], The Guardian, 28 November 1997

"R.J.Washington" [obituary], The Times, 13 December 1997;

Paul Rice, 'Robert Johnson Washington" [obituary], crafts No.151, March/April 1998;

Robert "Bob" Johnson Washington (Bob) (2 May 1913, London - 17 November 1997, Colchester Essex) was a British ceramic artist and educator.

Exhibitions
1938. Brygos Gallery, London, Ex Royal College of Art Students

1950-1970. Work shown at Crafts Centre of great Britain, Hay Hill, London

1951. The Festival of Britain

1979-1980. Hayward Gallery, London. 'The Thirties'

1984. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 'William Staite Murray and Pupils"

1981-1985. Paul Rice Gallery, London

1988. Anatol Orient, London.

1992. Chelmsford Central Library, Chelmsford Cathedral Festival.

Collections
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham.

Buckinghamshire County Museum, Aylesbury.

Cleveland Crafts Centre, Middlesbrough.

Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge.

Leicestershire Museums, Arts and Records Service, Leicester.

National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool.

Oldham Art Gallery, Greater Manchester.

Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, Paisley.

Portsmouth City Museum, Portsmouth.

Royston and District Museum, Royston.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London.