Lucie Rie (néé Gomperz) was born in Vienna in 1902, to a prosperous doctor's family. In Vienna she began to make simple (often burnished) earthenware pots distinctly different from the highly decorative and complex style of the time. Early influences included those of the silversmith Hoffman, rather than her ceramic contempories. In the period upto the Second World War she became well known in Europe exhibiting at international exhibitions around the continent (notably winning a silver medal at the Paris International Exhibition in 1937). Increasing levels of anti-Semitism forced her to leave Austria in 1937, emigrating to England where she lived for the rest of her life. Life was not easy for her at first making ends meet producing buttons. Initially, her sophisticated yet simple style was not so appreciated, the prevaling style being the more rustic "peasant pottery" by Bernard Leach and his followers. It was the period however when she met Hans Coper (in 1946), the man to make probably the most profound effect on her life and art until he died in 1981.

The late 1950's were the beginning of a change in appreciation for her art, she began to exhibit widely and her reputation grew. The newly opened Primavera Gallery in London championed her work and prices rose, although at this time most of her work was still functional tableware. It is in this early stage of her time in London that she extended the use of "sgraffitto" on her pots, in which delicate lines are drawn in the glaze with a pin or other sharp impliment. By the end of the 1960's she was one of the most well known and appreciated artists in England, being awarded the OBE in 1968. She not only produced an increasing number of individual pots but also took up a teaching post in Camberwell where she would train some of the most well known British Studio potters (notably Ewen Henderson and John Ward). The last decade of her life was one of increasing status as an artist. She was active until the end, producing the typically delicate, yet functional pots that characterised her style from the very begining.
(http://users.moose.co.uk/userfiles/SJD/rie.html ), 28 Nov. 2003

Created Dame of the British Empire in 1991 in recogntion of services to pottery/decorative arts