DOULTON (BURSLEM) ARTISTS

The artists and decorators assembled by John Slater and his successors at Burslem from the 1880s onward matched in skill those of Worcester and Derby. Of particular importance were:

Robert Allen

Herbert Betteley

Percy Curnock

Harry Nixon

A list of the principal Doulton Burslem artists/decorators can be found here: Burslem artists/decorators.

Robert Allen (b. 1858, d 1934)

Robert Allen, was a an important decorative artist, and then pattern designer for Royal Doulton in the early 20th century. He joined Doulton as an apprentice painter in about 1870, quickly becoming one of Doulton’s most adept and valuable decorators. Following the death of John Slater in 1914 he established his own design studio within the Nile St. factory; and here he produced literally thousands of patterns for the factory’s tableware.

Robert Allen’s designs can be identified by the special ‘Ra’ pattern numbers hand-written on the base of the ware - and these can be used to identify the year the pattern was produced.

Allen retired in about 1929 and died in 1934 at the age of 76.

The following obituary, taken in full from the Potteries Gazette and Glass Trades Review, Vol. 59, page 1207 (1934) records Allen’s talents and his career with Doulton:

We regret to record the death of Mr. Robert Allen, distinguished ceramic artist who was formerly in the employ of the Royal Doulton Potteries at Burslem, from which position he retired about five years ago, after well over fifty years’ service with that firm.

Mr. Robert Allen will long be remembered as a talented pottery artist. In early boyhood, electing to pursue art as a career, he attended the old Wedgwood Institute at Burslem, receiving his early art instruction under the guidance of Mr. Geo. Theaker. When quite a boy he entered the Royal Doulton Potteries as an apprentice, and was speedily picked out by the late Mr. John Slater, the then art director at the Nile-st. Works, as a promising artist. He received special facilities to develop his talents and subsequently became Mr. Slater’s right-hand man.

Mr. Allen was responsible for many successes as a ceramic artist, and one recalls his fine work in connection with many of the marvellous pieces which brought fame, as well as many diplomas, to the Doulton organisation at the Chicago and St. Louis Exhibitions, as well as Paris in 1900, and Turin and Brussles. He was versatile with the pencil and brush; an adept at design and, withal, a skilful executant in general.

No wonder that he was asked, following the death of the late Mr. Slater, to continue as head of the principal decorating department, a position from which he was subsequently relieved in order that he might thenceforth devote the whole of his attention to design.

One can recall the names and personalities of many talented pottery artists of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and amongst these Robert Allen will assuredly retain an abiding place. He poured out his soul in the interests of pottery decoration, and his works have secured notable recognition in all parts of the world. Anyone who is fortunate enough to possess a signed piece of ‘Royal Doulton; ware decorated by Allen will know how to appraise it, one feels sure.

Mr Allen was a capable water-colour painter, and this was one of his chief hobbies. Seascapes and bird subjects interested him chiefly, and his holidays were often planned to that end-a busman’s holiday some might choose to call them; but they resulted in the creation of many fine works, which have graced the walls of some noteworthy exhibitions.

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Herbert Betteley

Herbert Betteley was born in 1860 and joined Doulton in 1886 at the age of 26 after study at the Burslem School of Art. Initially an artist he was responsible for decorating many of the ornamental ware exhibited at the Chicago World’s Fair (World’s Columbian Exposition) of 1893. Later, he designed patterns for Doulton and ware bearing pattern numbers prefixed by ‘HB’ or ‘BB’ (in addition to the normal Doulton backstamp) are presumably the work of Betteley. His speciality was the painting of intricate gold patterns on ornamental ware. He remained associated with the Nile St factory until 1930.

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Percy Curnock

Percy Curnock was probably Doulton’s longest serving artist, entering the factory in 1885 and only retiring in 1954. He specialised in floral painting (especially roses), and landscapes.

Curnock’ signature is seen on some tableware, for example on the popular ‘Glamis Thistle’ pattern V xxxx, although the pattern is applied as a colour lithograph rather than an original ceramic painting.

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Harry Nixon

Harry Nixon (b. 1886, d. 1955) joined Doulton in about 1900 as a general artist. He was closely associated with Charles Noke in the decoration of flambe ware and the Chang and Sung art ware of the early 1900s. Nixon is best know as the man responsible for figurine painting at Nile St and the ‘HN’ series numbers on figurines (HN 1 ‘Darling’ introduced in 1913) recognise his role in their production.

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Other Doulton (Burslem) artists

Surname	First name	Service	Speciality
Allen	Harry	1899–1950	Birds, florals, landscapes
Allen	Robert	1870-1929	Artist, responsible for decorating much of the Burslem ornamental ware exhibited by Doulton at the great exhibition of the 1890s. Later an important pattern designer and the originator of the ‘Ra’ numbered patterns.
Bailey	Arthur	1912–1955	Slip and underglaze painter
Bentley	Leonard	1889–1926	Florals
Betteley	Herbert	1886–1930	Artist and designer, specialised in intricate gold patterns. Later a designer and the originator of ‘HB’ labelled patterns.
Bilton	Louis	1892–c. 1911	Florals (esp Australian)
Birbeck	Joseph	1900–1926	Fish, game-birds, landscapes
Birks	Edward	1881–1890	Florals
Bott	Thomas	1889–1900	Florals
Boulton	James	1880–1917	Florals
Brough	Charles	1903–1911	Florals, game-birds
Brown	Reginald	1925–1962	Florals, landscapes, figurines (post c. 1930)
Brown	Wilmot	1879–1930	Landscapes, flambe
Buttle	George	1905–1911	Figures
Curnock	Percy	1885–1954	Florals (speciality: Roses), landscapes
Dewsbury	David	1889–1919	David Dewsbury joined Doulton after working at the Hill Pottery, Burslem. He specialised in floral studies and is acknowledged as a master painter of orchids. His finest work appears on cabinet plates and ornamental vases.
Eaton	Arthur	1889–1932
Evans	George	1929–1931	Landscapes
Grace	William	1902–1960	Underglaze painter
Hall	Sydney	1891–1952	Florals, landscapes, fish, game-birds
Hancock	Joseph	1890–1945	Fish, game-birds, landscapes
Hancock	Frederick	1879–1913	Florals, fish, game-birds, landscapes
Harper	Frank	1925–1928	Florals, fruit
Hart	Charles	1880–1927	Florals, fish, game-birds
Hewitt	John	1885–1893	Figure painter on vases etc
Hodkinson	William	1880–1920	Painter and gilder who trained at Mintons and joined Doulton at the age of 20. A skilled landscape painter, he collaborated with Charles Noke on Holbein Ware and the decoration of flambe ware.
Hopkins	Charles	1895–1922	Landscapes
Johnson	Reginald	1923–1930	Landscapes. Reginald Johnson joined Doulton at the age of fourteen in 1923 and studied under Charles Noke.
Johnson	Leslie	1905–1937	Figure painter on vases etc
Keates	Norman	1907–1961	Florals, landscapes
Kitteridge	J.	1890s–	Florals
Labarre	Charles	1893–1894	Painter of vases for the Chicago Exhibition
Mitchell	Henry	1893–1908	A gifted painter of animals, Mitchell established his reputation at Mintons and other companies before joining Doulton. He also specialised in landscapes and hunting scenes.
Moore	Frederick	1927–1957	Slip painter and flambé
Morrey	Harry	1884–1944	Landscapes, Holbein Ware
Mountford	Harry	1890s–	Florals
Nixon	Harry	1900–1950	Florals, also flambé, Sung and Chang
Parry	Edward	1887–1893	Florals
Perry	Arthur	1926–1947	Fish, game-birds, landscapes
Phillips	Thomas	1888–1930	Florals
Piper	Harry	1892–1914	Heraldic emblems
Plant	John	1902–1917	Joined Doulton after working at Coalport and Wedgwood. Plant specialised in English landscapes featuring castles, cathedrals and other historic buildings.
Price	John	1894–1932	Florals, general painting
Proudlove	Albert	1890s
Raby	Edward	1892–1914	Florals
Roden	Jack	1904–1955	Underglaze painter
Scott	Arthur	1896–1906	Florals (speciality: Roses)
Slater	Walter	1880–1910	Florals
Sutton	Fred	1904–1913	Painter of figures and miniatures
Taylor	Harry	1897–1900	Florals, fruit, crustacean
Theaker	Harry	1893–1900	Figure painter esp classical subjects
Tittensor	Harry	1900–1925	Landscapes, figure painting, Art Ware
Walklate	Frederick	1888–1927	Florals, landscapes
Webster	Eric	1910–1963	Florals, landscapes, birds
White	George	1885–1912	Specialist figure painter on vases, services etc. He painted many figures from classical mythology and was associated with Charles Noke in the decoration of Luscian Ware.
Wilson	Samuel	1880–1909	Samuel Wilson specialised in portraying scenes from rural Britain and his paintings often contain cattle, sheep, wild deer, or hunting scenes. Fish, game-birds and landscapes were other subjects.
Wood	Edwin	1898–1938	Florals
Yeomans	Charles	1883–1951	Landscapes, flambé ware

Art & design | Doulton Art Directors

Notes

The list above is based on that given by Eyles, D. (1965). Royal Doulton 1815-1865 – The Rise and Expansion of the Royal Doulton Potteries. Hutchinson of London.
Service within the range of dates given may not be continuous.
Special commissions were signed by the individual artist. Signatures are also found on some transfer printed tableware, for example that of Percy Curnock, however, these identify the painter of the original work and do not imply that the ware was hand-painted.

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