Charles Vyse was born in Staffordshire, England in 1882. He is considered to be one of the most important people in the development of British studio pottery. Vyse began his career as an apprentice at Doulton at 14 modeling and designing pottery. He was very successful creating Doulton’s most popular models. He went on to win a scholarship to the Royal College of Art where he studied sculpture and eventually was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.
In 1919, with his then wife Nell, set up a studio at Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. It was there, Charles, Nell and a small staff of women produced slip cast models of figures based on people they had seen on the streets of London.
Vyse’s studio neighbor George Eumorfopoulos had an extensive collection of Chinese Sung pottery. Through George, Charles began to study and make pots in the Sung style. Nell was the backbone of this new this experiment. She was a master in the chemistry of ceramics and provided the know-how for Charles to reproduce the chun, celadon, tenmoku and t’zu chou glazes for these stoneware pots.
In 1940 The Cheyne Walk studio was badly damaged in a war bombing that took out many business’s, homes and subsequently Charles and Nell’s marriage. After their separation and in need of a new place to work, Vyse became a modeling and pottery instructor at Farnham School of Art all while continuing to produce his own wares.
All throughout, he loyally sold his works through Walker’s Gallery on Bond Street until he retired in 1963.
Stair is pleased and important collection of English Porcelain in the October 26 & 27 Fine Sale. This distinctive group of ceramics is the unlikely assemblage of a variety of porcelain manufacturers from the 18th and 19th and 20th centuries, put together at a feverish pace by a voracious New York City entrepreneur, with the greatest attention paid to scarcity, rarity and form. Being dedicated to the passion and pursuit of fine and rare decorative arts, Stair is offering in excess of 200 lots, along with several other collections to accompany this fascinating group.