Muriel Pemberton (1909 - 1993)
Originally born and raised in Tunstall one of the six towns of the Potteries, Muriel Pemberton attended the Burslem School of Art training under Gordon Forsyth where she was accepted onto the diploma as the youngest attendee ever, aged 14.
She went on to The Royal College to study fine art under William Rothenstein, after a year she discovered her love of textiles and clothing could be amalgamated with her art training and moved to study design with teaching assistants Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden as well as studying under fellow Burslem born head of the design course, Reco Capey.
She then went onto teach at St Martins College of Art (Central St Martins) in 1931 to become the founder of their now famous fashion course which has produced many talented and famous fashion designers of the 20th century many of which trained under Muriel as their tutor.
She became fashion editor at Vogue magazine ( for a time) and two oils of a woman were appraised on the Antiques Roadshow in October 2016.
Barewall discovered the story of Muriel Pemberton in 2015 via a distant relative artist Ivan Taylor who also suspects relations to artist Jack Simcock. We also are neighbours to a local pottery manufacturer who is now living in her childhood house in the Potteries.
We are delighted to be able to offer her stunning mixed media works now at Barewall, we are also working with a London gallery The Chris Beetles Gallery who offer a fantastic array of Muriel Pemberton works and who published beautiful limited edition hard back of her works with a her story written from interviews with Muriel Pemberton during her later life.
In 1971 an exhibition of 6 artists at the Stoke on Trent Museum now the Potteries Museum described Muriel Pemberton as:
"Born in Tunstall and studied at the Burslem School of Art and the Royal College of Art.
Was a fashion artist for the News Chronicle 1945-52, covering English and Paris collections and has had drawings reproduced in Vogue, Vogue Export and many other periodicals.
Miss Pemberton is now (In 1971) Head of Faculty of Fashion, St. Martin's School of Art, London, a member of the Textiles and Fashion Panel and an Assessor for Diplomas in Art and Design for the National Council for Diplomas in Art and Design. She is an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colour; A Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists and a Member of the Women's International Art Club.
EXHIBITIONS: Royal Academy, Royal Society of Painters in Water Colour, Leicester Galleries, Gimpel Fils, Beaux Arts, Whitechapel Gallery. Also exhibited in the U.S.A., South Africa, China, Japan and Europe. Work in public and private collections in this country and the U.S.A., and reproduced by UNICEF in America."
For more information and artwork by Muriel Pemberton please also see: www.chrisbeetles.com and please read the obituary written for the independent by Chris Beetles www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-muriel-pemberton-1458928.html in 1993.
