Bernard Leach was the preeminent artist potter of this century. Early in his career he spent 12 formative years in Japan. Returning to England in 1920, he set up a studio in St. Ives. Leach's influence on the growth of the studio pottery movement, both in Japan and in the West, has been profound. His making of ceramics and his teaching of some of the foremost artist-potters of the period gives him a central place in the international history of decorative arts.