Salts Mill has just put another fabulous piece of art on display. It is a ceramic mural, created in the 1960s by Grete Marks (1899-1990), a German Jewish refugee who came to England just before WWII. She originally trained at the Bauhaus. By the 1950s, she was regularly showing her paintings and ceramics in London, alongside Ben Nicholson and John Piper.
The scene depicted is the old canal basin, which was once in front of Bradford's cathedral, taken from a Victorian watercolour by Neil Stuart Crichton. The mural was commissioned for the entrance to Central House, a former office building in Bradford. It was rediscovered, hidden behind a false wall, over ten years ago, and was taken into storage. It needed extensive restoration, which has been carried out over the last year by skilled ceramics restorer Fiona J Hutchinson, in a workshop in part of Salts Mill.
The detail in it is fabulous, and the colours and textures are beautiful. It's a really strong piece. I'm delighted that Salts Mill's owners have had the vision to save and restore it. The text alongside says 'the restoration project was born from the determination of (the late) Maggie Silver (Jonathan's widow) and stands in her memory.'
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