Literature

John Houston (ed)., Lucie Rie, exh. cat., Crafts Council and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1981, illustrated pp.17, 33, 67 (closely comparable works);
Margot Coatts (ed.), Lucie Rie & Hans Coper - Potters in Parallel, exh. cat., Barbican, London, 1997, illustrated p.103 (a closely comparable work);
Issey Miyake et.al., U-Tsu-Wa; Lucie Rie, Jennifer Lee; Ernst Gamperl, exh. cat., 21_21 Design Sight, The Miyake Foundation, Tokyo, illustrated LR31 (a closely comparable work).


HANS RIE / JOHN RIE

The present work was formerly in the collection of John Rie, the son of Lucie Rie’s husband Hans Rie. Lucie and Hans Rie married in 1926, after building a relationship on the basis of a shared love of sport, and skiing in particular. In the late 1930s, when their safety began to be threatened and it became clear that they needed to leave Austria, they moved from Vienna to London. The relocation to England turned out to be hugely beneficial to Lucie’s growth as a ceramist, but it was less so for Hans’ career. He spent his time in London assisting refugees, but with professional success elusive, he would soon depart for the United States without her. She and Hans divorced shortly after, and he would go on to establish a new life in Massachusetts. They separated on good terms, and would remain in touch throughout their lives. John Rie has many fond memories from his childhood of visits with Lucie Rie. His recollection is that some of these pieces were made in the studio on one of his family’s trips to England, which he first visited in 1949.

A closely comparable work is held in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (accession number C.33-1982).