The Grand Tour or Pride of Place: Landscape painting on European Porcelain
Speaker: John H. Thomas
Author of Wedgwood Style: Three Centuries of Distinction
Our evening's speaker will present a talk based on his just published book Wedgwood Style: Three Centuries of Distinction. The talk will concern itself with the great beginnings of the company, the interim struggles for survival over the successive generations and Josiah V's monumental achievement in returning the company to success and prominence that had been established by his ancestor, Josiah I, in the eighteenth century.
When Mr. Thomas speaks of Wedgwood he knows of what he speaks. At the encouragement of his father, the personnel manager at Wedgwood, John joined the Wedgwood Company in 1950. In 1957, John joined Wedgwood Canada as a salesman traveling far and wide as a representative of Wedgwood wares. John's association with Wedgwood USA began in 1963 and by 1979 he had risen to the position of executive Vice President of the company. Leaving the USA in 1979, John went to Australia to manage the Wedgwood Australian subsidiary. John eventually returned to the States, where in 1987 he became President of Waterford/ Wedgwood for Caribbean, Central and South American markets. He retired from the company in 1991.
During John's tenure with Wedgwood, he had the opportunity to be involved in the renaissance of Wedgwood under the leadership of Josiah the fifth and subsequently Sir Arthur Bryan, the first non-Wedgwood family member of the company. Furthermore, having spent five years at Barlaston, he personally knew the fine craftsmen and women who took such pride in making Wedgwood for the consumer.
It will be an event not to be missed. We have all read the history of Wedgwood in books, but how often do you have an opportunity to talk with someone who has actually lived it?
Place: Sotheby's 1334 York Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2002
Time: 7:00 PM Lecture