John Maltby
John Maltby | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 July 1936 Cleethorpes |
| Died | December 22, 2020 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Leicester College of Art and Goldsmith's College |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, potter and sculptor |
| Years active | 1962-2020 |
| Known for | Pottery, Sculptor |
| Spouse | Heather Helmore |
| Children | Joe and Philippa |
John Maltby (15 July 1936 – 22 December 2020)[1] was a distinguished English sculptor and studio potter.[2]
Education and career
[edit]John Maltby was born and brought up in Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, where he attended Clee Grammar School.[3] His father, a fish merchant, wanted Maltby to go into the same trade, but he was uninterested in doing so.[4] After leaving school he went on study for a degree at Leicester College of Art specialising in sculpture and then Goldsmiths College in South London.[3]
After a period of teaching art at a small private boys' school at Caterham in Surrey near London, he visited Bernard Leach after reading Leach's A Potter's Book. On Leach's advice Maltby joined his son David Leach in 1962 at Lowerdown Pottery in Bovey Tracey, Devon where he was Leach's apprentice for nearly two years. He then set up his own pottery at Stoneshill near Crediton in 1964.[5][4] From the late 1980s until 2011, he taught a week-long ceramic course at Aberystwyth University.[6] He also lectured at Cumbria College of Art and Design, and was a visiting tutor at West Surrey College of Art and Design.[7]
After surgery in 1996 left Maltby too weak to make his pots, he began to make small ceramic sculptures of figures such as angels, birds, and fish.[8] As well as ceramics, Maltby painted on wooden board – especially depicting boats, inspired by his own love of sailing and the works of Alfred Wallis – and made painted wooded automata.[9]
Maltby was a member of the Kenn Group of Artists (along with Clifford Fishwick, Michael Mason,[10] William Ruscoe, Amy Elton,[11][12] Frank Middleditch,[13] Rowland Hill,[14] Peter Thursby[15] and others) and exhibited in the group's annual shows regularly, often in Exeter College of Art and Design or the gallery of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in the city,[16] but also further afield. He was also a member of the Craft Potters Association and the British Crafts Centre, and an advisor to the Leach Archive.[1]
His work has been exhibited worldwide and is represented in many public collections[17] including Victoria and Albert Museum.[18] Maltby's life and work was celebrated in a retrospective exhibition and accompanying book in the summer of 2022 at the Yew Tree Gallery, Morvah, Cornwall.[19]
Style
[edit]His early pieces were in the Leach Anglo-Japanese style. It was after he set up his own pottery his individual style developed. From an early age he loved the sea and this remained an influence throughout his career as were his European travels and abstract artists.[20] Following a major heart operation in 1996 Maltby was unable to undertake the work of kneading clay and manipulating large pieces, this lead him to start making smaller more sculptural works.[4]
Personal life
[edit]Maltby's parents were John a fish merchant and his wife Gladys. Whilst at Caterham he met Heather Helmore who was working as the school matron and they married in 1962. They had two children Joe and Philippa. Heather died in 2007 and John in 2020.[4] He was still working in his pottery until shortly before his death.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Tributes paid to distinguished Crediton ceramic artist John Maltby | creditoncourier.co.uk". Crediton Country Courier. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ "§ John Maltby (British, 1936-2020), King, in". Cheffins Fine Art. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ a b Watson Oliver, Studio Pottery Phaidon 1993, p.216
- ^ a b c d Dutt, Nigel (15 January 2021). "John Maltby obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ John Maltby
- ^ Wyatt Smith, Gilly (2022). John Maltby: A Life of Creativity. Yew Tree Gallery. p. 70.
- ^ Wyatt Smith, Gilly (2022). John Maltby: A Life of Creativity. Yew Tree Gallery. p. 75.
- ^ Wyatt Smith, Gilly (2022). John Maltby: A Life of Creativity. Yew Tree Gallery. p. 24.
- ^ Wyatt Smith, Gilly (2022). John Maltby: A Life of Creativity. Yew Tree Gallery. pp. 40–42.
- ^ "Michael D. Mason". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Amy Elton". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Cornwall Artist Index: Amy Elton". Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Cornwall Artists Index: Frank Middleditch". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Rowland Hill". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Peter Thursby". Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ C. Jane Baker (n.d.). Catalogue of Oil Paintings, Watercolours, Drawings and Sculpture in the Permanent Collection 1978. Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.
- ^ "Art UK | Discover Artworks". artuk.org. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ Museum, Victoria and Albert. "Boat, White Moon and Stars | Maltby, John | V&A Explore The Collections". Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ Wyatt Smith, Gilly (May 2022). John Maltby - A Life of Creativity. Yew Tree Gallery. ISBN 9781399922982.
- ^ "A life in the making: John Maltby". Ceramic Review. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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