Hans Coper

Hans Coper (1920-1981) was the most influential potter of the second half of the twentieth century Many contemporary potters owe much to Hans Coper’s teaching and, although their is no ‘Coper School’ as such, he is remembered for his ability to improve the skills of others as much as for his outstanding originality First published twenty years ago and described as …a wonderful book by none other than Dame Lucie Rie, this sensitively told account of Coper’s brilliant but tragic life is a worthy tribute to a great artist. The book is as precise as its subject: a 78-page narrative with archival photographs sets the scene for over 150 stunning pictures of Coper’s unique pots - including 59 full-colour plates. Hans Coper’s pots are much more than containers, like music, they too have an abstract quality, having the same inexplicable ability to arouse emotion. Within Britain, where he made such an impact on pottery from 1950 onwards, he is inevitably regarded as a European, but in fact he owed no allegiance. He was a truly original figure.