Lucie Rie’s influence on 20th century British studio ceramics could be explained by the employees and apprentices she trained at Albion Mews, by her teaching, or through her prolific catalogue of exhibitions; She didn’t impart an obvious style. She encouraged hard-work to develop deep knowledge of bodies and materials and an individualistic approach to making.

I propose to discuss the works of Lucie Rie in relation to the permanent collection of studio ceramics held at Paisley Museum. Rie's works sit alongside those by Coper, Britton, Henderson, Radstone, Godfrey, Suttie, Poncelet and Fritsch. They demonstrate her influence on a new wave of radical ceramics, imbuing an urbane tone with materiality exemplifying the pushed boundaries of context and form.
As a curator and ceramic practitioner I was invited to make the selection of ceramic works for the new permanent display at Paisley Museum. This paper will present research carried out during this process, tracing the influence of Rie on post-war studio ceramics, discussing how the works in the collection demonstrate a permanent rupture from the folk revival tradition setting the course for rigorous making embedded in clay.

The significance of Paisley’s collection is due in part to Henry Rothschild who advised the then director, Cyril Rock. Some of the first works in the collection are by Rie. The main period of acquisition ran from 1958-’69. Drawing on the unique resource offered by this special collection of studio ceramics, this paper will explore Rie’s influence in relation to this hidden gem at Paisley Museum.