Bernard Leach - The Making of a Master- Part 3 - USA

How did Bernard Leach’s ideas travel from a small pottery in St Ives to influence generations of potters around the world?

In the final episode of our three-part series, we follow Leach as his influence spreads beyond Britain. We explore his relationship with American potters Warren and Alix MacKenzie, his travels across the United States, and his celebrated 1952 tour with Shōji Hamada and Sōetsu Yanagi.

From Black Mountain College to the emerging American studio pottery movement, we meet artists including Marguerite Wildenhain, Karen Karnes and Peter Voulkos, and discover how a new generation embraced, challenged and transformed Leach’s ideas.

This is the story of how Bernard Leach became an international figure — and how his philosophy helped reshape studio pottery for generations to come.

Artworks and images in this episode: Bernard Leach, David Leach, and students at the Leach Pottery, St. Ives, Cornwall c.1945 A Potter’s Book, by Bernard Leach, 1940 David Leach, 1911-2005 Standard Ware Bowls, Bernard Leach Pottery Dinnerware, The LeachPottery, St. Ives Michael Cardew, William Marshall, Bernard Leach, Picnicking at Cardew’s Pottery in 1970, Courtesy of Jeff Oestrich Bernard Leach at Alfred University, 1950, Warren & Alix MacKenzie, 1953, Bowl, Warren MacKenzie, c. 1969-1970 Ceramics, Warren MacKenzie, 1924-2018 Hamada, Leach, Yanagi and Wildenhain at Black Mountain College, 1952 Sōetsu Yanagi, Bernard Leach and Shōji Hamada, 1952 Black Mountain College Seminar, 1952 Vases, Margaurite Wildenhain, c. 1940’s-50’s Bottle Vase, Margurite Wildenhain, 1970 Vase, Bernard Leach, c. 1959 Shōji Hamada, c.1970 Sōetsu Yanagi, Bernard Leach, Rudy Autio, Peter Voulkos, Shōji Hamada, 1959 Covered Jar, Peter Voulkos, c.1954 Peter Voulkos kicking the potters wheel, 1952 Cup and Signed Box, Shōji Hamada Robert Rauschenberg at Black Mountain College, c.1952 Bernard Leach, c.1920’s