1871 - 1973

Arthur Perry was the son of a mould maker at Spode. His father was a great friend of William Birbeck who was a fine landscape painter at the factory and he took young Arthur Perry as his apprentice. He attended Hanley School of Art in the evenings.

Perry learnt all the different branches of ceramic art and could gild as well as paint superbly. He himself claimed he could paint any subject except the human figure. His chance to establish himself as a premier artist came when he was asked to copy a Sevres breakfast set. He executed this sample so well that the commissioning retailer could not tell the difference and requested that Arthur Perry complete the order.

In the 1880s he left Spode to join Coalport but returned some years later leaving in 1936.

Examples of Arthur Perry's work can be seen in the Spode Museum including a superb tray depicting the Seaside resort of Scarborough after a painting by Turner.