Lucie Rie Blue Plaque

About This Blue Plaque

Dame Lucie Rie (1902-1995) was an Austrian-born British studio potter renowned for her distinctive Modernist style. Rie’s elegant yet functional ceramics helped elevate pottery from a craft to a respected art form in 20th-century Britain. She lived and worked at her studio at 18 Albion Mews in London’s Paddington neighborhood from 1939 until her death.

Rie studied pottery under Michael Powolny at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule before fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria for London in 1938. She soon established her own studio and began producing striking hand-thrown earthenware vessels glazed in vibrant colors. Rie’s innovative techniques and minimalist designs attracted the attention of British and American art collectors.

In the 1950s and 60s, Rie taught at the Camberwell School of Art and the Royal College of Art, influencing a generation of British potters. She collaborated with her close friend, German-born British studio potter Hans Coper, and their work was often exhibited together. In 1991, Rie was made Dame Commander in recognition of her contributions to the arts. Today, her pieces are highly prized by museums and collectors worldwide as masterful examples of 20th-century pottery.

Westminster, where Rie’s studio was located, is a historic London borough home to many of the city’s top cultural attractions. The neighborhood of Paddington in particular evolved over the 20th century from a largely working-class area to a vibrant artistic one that Rie would have known well. Visitors can view examples of Rie’s work at the nearby Victoria and Albert Museum, which holds the world’s most extensive ceramics collection.