Joan Mary Crossley-Holland was an English gallery owner and potter.
14 Facts About Joan Crossley-Holland
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Joan Crossley-Holland took a break from work to raise her children.
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Therefore, Crossley-Holland was employed as a personal assistant to the Maharana of Mewar at the Lake Palace Hotel for a year.
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Joan Crossley-Holland was appointed director of Oxford's Bear Lane Gallery in 1966 but left to establish the independent Oxford Gallery in 1968 after disagreements with trustees over whether pottery was considered art.
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Joan Crossley-Holland oversaw 186 exhibitions from artists by the time she retired in 1986.
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Joan Crossley-Holland was first taught at Plymouth Brethren Boys' School, Northfield, where she captained the first XI football team.
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Joan Crossley-Holland was later educated at Wycombe Abbey, where she learnt pottery and science.
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From 1931 to 1934, Joan Crossley-Holland attended London's Central School of Arts and Crafts, taking a course in pottery.
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Joan Crossley-Holland returned to the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s, and was appointed director of the Arts Council-sponsored Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford in 1966.
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Joan Crossley-Holland often disagreed with the gallery's trustees if pottery was considered art when she argued an exhibition of craftsmanship would be best suited to fill a gap in their schedule.
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Joan Crossley-Holland was one of the first to put on exhibits of John Makepeace's furniture, Lucie Rie's and Hans Coper's pottery, Wendy Ramshaw's jewellery and Peter Collingwood's weaving.
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Joan Crossley-Holland retired from the Oxford Gallery in 1986 and moved to Walsham le Willows, Suffolk.
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Joan Crossley-Holland died from Alzheimer's disease at Pinford End House nursing home, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 12 January 2005.
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Joan Crossley-Holland has earned the respect of those of us working in the crafts.