Those reading beyond the headlines might have noticed the dealer, publisher and pottery owner has been awarded an OBE for his services to the Staffordshire pottery industry.
To many in the art and antiques world, Mr Dennis will be familiar for his numerous publications and exhibitions on British ceramics. But this and his other activities are just part of his all-round championing of the British pottery industry or, as he puts it “keeping the flame alive”.
It was 30 years ago that Mr Dennis began his promotion of British art pottery with Doulton wares. Numerous groundbreaking exhibitions on a huge variety of ceramics have followed and their stories have been recorded in any number of books produced by his publishing company, many becoming standard works on the subject.
In 1986 Richard Dennis helped the Staffordshire potteries in an even more practical way. Together with a partner he acquired the controlling share in Moorcroft Pottery that was then threatened with closure. Moorcroft is still running, although Mr Dennis left in 1993 to set up his own West Country based pottery, Dennis Chinaworks, with his wife, the designer Sally Tuffin.
New Year honours for Moorcroft saviour Richard Dennis
ALONGSIDE, Tom Jones, Bruce Forsyth and the Ashes winning cricket team, the New Year’s honours list featured Richard Dennis.
