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Eric Olsen was born in Norway in 1903.
He studied at the Oslo School of Art, St. Martin's School of Art, London and at
the faience studio at Sèvres. He worked at
Wedgwood as a designer and modeller
in 1931 and at Spode from 1932. Where he had his own studio where he experimentd
with glazes and clays. Some of the Olsen pieces were beautifully thrown and in
the style of studio pottery. Stunning glazes were used on these one-off items.
He is best remembered for a range of
animal figures. Glazed in either their matt green Royal Jade c1932 - 1938 or a
cream coloured Velamour c1932 - 1940 and c1953- 1969 .He
also designed the Toby Jugs of Winston
Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt and a statuette of Churchill leaving No. 10
Downing Street modelled after a photograph.
In 1936 he was selected as a National
Register Designer by the English Board of Trade and in 1937 an exhibition of his
studio type wares in London was opened by the Queen of Norway. In 1942 Olsen
left Copeland's to join the Norwegian Quartermaster General where he was a
camouflage expert.
After World War II he emigrated to the
United States where he became chief designer at Haeger Potteries in Illinois.
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