Artist Info
Nicholas Vergette
Nicholas Vergette was an exceptional and prolific ceramicist. Born in 1923 in Market Deeping, England, he studied at the Chelsea School of Art, graduating in 1950 after his education had been interrupted by five years service (1941-46) with the RAF during the Second World War. From 1949 to 1954 he shared a studio in Bayswater with William Newland and Margaret Hine and together they were known as The Picassoettes - a term coined by Bernard Leach.
In 1951 he was invited to teach as a visiting lecturer at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, which he did until leaving the UK for America in 1958. He also taught as a visiting lecturer at Camberwell School of Arts. In 1958 he was invited to teach in the US, at the School for American Craftsmen, Rochester Institute of Technology. He subsequently taught at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, where he was Head of Crafts until his death in 1974. His work was exhibited across the globe, and was acquired by museums in Europe, Britain and the US. He died in 1974 at the age of 50, following a long battle with cancer. The Museum and Contemporary Collection holds a beautiful example of Vergette's work and a considerable paper and photographic archive, kindly donated by his family.
Author: SRB
