Haynes Fine Art Haynes Fine Art Est 1971

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Artists Biography

John Maltby

British fl. 1964-2020
Maltby15618web
JOHN MALTBY
(British 1936 – 2020)

John Maltby was born in 1936 in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. His father was a fish merchant and John was brought up loving the sea. However, rather than follow in the family business, his mother encouraged him after leaving school to study at Leicester College of Art, where he specialised in sculpture, and then at Goldsmith's College in South London. After graduating he worked as an art teacher in a small private boys' school near London for two years and it is here that he met his future wife, Heather, who was matron at the school. They had two children together; a daughter named Philly and a son named Joe.
When John and Heather were on holiday in the summer of 1962, John visited Bernard Leach in St Ives having read his book "A Potter's Book". Bernard introduced him to his son David, who had his own pottery in Devon and encouraged him to give up teaching and join him at Lowerdown Pottery in Bovey Tracey, where he became David’s apprentice for nearly two years. John went on to set up his own pottery at Stoneshill near Crediton in 1964 and remained working there until the end of his life.
In 1996 John underwent a major heart operation which prevented him from performing the heavy work involved in kneading clay and manipulating large pieces of wheel thrown pottery. A change in style was needed and so he turned to making smaller works in the form of hand formed figurative sculptures and wall art.
He was a member of the Craftsmen Potters Association of Great Britain and the British Crafts Centre, and was an advisor to the Leach Archive at the Holbourne of Menstrie Museum in Bath.
His work has been exhibited worldwide and is represented in many public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum.
John Maltby, a distinguished English sculptor and studio potter, sadly died on 22nd December 2020 at the age of 84.

Works by this artist…

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