Lot 4
4
ALFRED AND LOUISE POWELL Alfred Powell and his wife Ada Louise are principally known as artists and decorators for Wedgwood, employed by the firm from 1905 to enhance their range of wares to appeal to the growing taste for Arts and Crafts. However, Alfred Powell also played a central role in the development and success of the Cotswold movement. He met Ernest Gimson and the Barnsley brothers while training as an architect in the offices of J. D. Sedding in the late 1880s and the friendship which resulted was to last a lifetime. It was through Powell's steady guidance and support that the work of Gimson and the Barnsleys was brought to a wider audience and the Sapperton workshops became a viable commercial enterprise. Both Alfred and Ada Louise worked occasionally with Gimson and the Barnsleys as decorators of painted furniture, but apart from his enduring friendship, perhaps Powell's single greatest contribution to Gimson's success was the introduction of Gimson to his brother Oswald Powell, headmaster of Bedales school. This resulted in the commission to design an assembly hall for the school and later a library, completed after Gimson's death under the supervision of Sidney Barnsley.
A set of twelve serving plates

DECORATED BY ALFRED POWELL, MANUFACTURED BY WEDGWOOD, 1920S

Details
A set of twelve serving plates
Decorated by Alfred Powell, manufactured by Wedgwood, 1920s
Eleven Plates and small Comport, each painted with an English scene in underglaze blue, the comport with a view of Tewkesbury Abbey, rims detailed with stylised foliage
9 3/8in. (24cm.) approximate diameter each piece
Each with artist's monogram, numbered 1949 or 1950, the comport titled Tewkesbury Abbey and dated 25.6.23 (12)
Provenance
The family of J.P. Bedford, thence by descent.

Lot Essay

The items in this and the following five lots are from the family of J.P. Bedford, who were close personal friends of Alfred and Louise Powell. In the course of this friendship and also through their connection with Bedales, the Bedfords were introduced to Gimson and the Barnsleys, commissioning several pieces from them over a period of years. (See lots 44,45,49,50,51.) They were also enthusiastic collectors of Alfred Powell's flower studies, examples of which are offered in lots 7, 8 and 9.

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