Page 95 - Bulletin 9 2005

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The final decades

Glazes, pigments and other chemicals had always been obtained from overseas, mainly from
England, but during the Second World War these sources of supply were cut off and as a

result the studio was faced with closure, which Conrand prevented by purchasing the business
in 1943. The name Linnware, used from this point until the eventual closure of the

undertaking, is thought to be derived from the name Cullinan. Gladys Short, who had been

suffering from ill health for some time, retired at this stage because she could not accept what
she regarded as the more commercial orientation of the new venture. Joan Methley stayed on

to manage the Linnware studio, with Audrey Frank and Thelma Currie working part-time

until the 1950s. Although this period saw few major architectural commissions, the
production of domestic ware and individually decorated pieces continued, the general quality

matching that of the earlier products despite Gladys Short's misgivings. The glazes developed
by the technical staff at Conrand to replace those from overseas were initially inferior but

they improved considerably and eventually matched the imported glazes used by the Ceramic
Studio.

19
Towards the end of the 1950s a diminishing consumer demand for Linnware combined with
a lack of artistic direction after Joan Methley’s retirement, eventually forced Conrand to close

this part of their operation. During its later years the studio appears to have done very little
new work, simply continuing to reproduce tile patterns and tableware designed in earlier

decades and ignoring not only changes in consumer taste but also the increasing competition
from local and overseas manufacturers. A small and cohesive group of artists had provided

the original vision and impetus for an extraordinary undertaking; as the individuals departed,

or grew older, the level of creative energy gradually diminished. All these factors made the
closure of the Linnware studio inevitable.

Notes

1 A. P. Cartwright Diamonds and Clay Purnell and Sons, Cape Town 1977, 85–6.

2 Interview with Mrs Marjorie Cullinan (neé Johnstone), March 1987. The name of the
interviewer is not known.

3 Thelma Currie (neé Newlands) was widowed twice, and used various surnames when