Arthur Berry

From Freepedia

Arthur Berry (1925-1994). Born in Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent, England. Playwright, poet, teacher and artist.

Raised as the son of a publican in an industrial district during the depths of the Depression, Berry escaped via an education at the Burslem School of Art from age 14. Despite a rebellious start there, he came under the care of renowned tutor Gordon Forsyth and later gained a place at the Royal College of Art, London. After his education he returned to Burslem to teach at the School of Art, and his individual creative work became deeply rooted in the culture, people and landscape of the industrial pottery town of Burslem.

His first play was staged in 1976, followed by others and a remarkable autobiography, Three and Sevenpence Halfpenny Man. His 1979 work Lament For The Lost Pubs Of Burslem was awarded the Sony/Pye Award for the best radio monologue of 1979.

Until 1985 he held the post of Lecturer in Painting at North Staffordshire Polytechnic. His paintings are held in numerous private and public collections, and he is known as 'the Lowry of the Potteries'.

There is an annual Arthur Berry Fellowship award for young artists, administered on behalf of his widow Cynthia Berry.

Major retrospectives

• Arthur Berry retrospective exhibition: Stoke-on-Trent City Museum and Art Gallery, 17 September-27 October 1984 catalogue. Stoke-on-Trent City Museum and Art Gallery (1984).

• Arthur Berry. The Gallery, Manchester, 1995.

• Arthur Berry : twenty-five paintings. Burslem School of Art, 29th April - 20th May 2005.