Beck, Lucy Boyd (1916-2009), was an Australian studio potter and painter who produced painted tiles and murals. Her pieces are characterized by flowing lines and muted colors. Much of her work has mythological themes, as in the ceramic mural Orpheus and Eurydice (1974).
Lucy Boyd was born in August 1916 in Murrumbeena, near Melbourne. She was a member of the Boyd family of Melbourne, which was prominent in the arts in Australia throughout the 1900’s. Her parents were the potters Merric and Doris Boyd. Their pottery studio, Open Country Cottage, was where she learned ceramic skills. Lucy also worked with the ceramic artist Hatton Beck, whom she married in 1939. His ceramic work is abstract, with ceramic picture surfaces built up from layers of clays and minerals. His subjects are usually landscapes, such as his ceramic picture Russe Rocks and Meandering Stream (1977). The Becks started working together at Murrumbeena in the mid-1900’s, with a government grant to produce utility pottery. They produced a wide range of domestic pottery, mostly decorated by Lucy. From 1948 to 1961, the Becks lived in Brisbane. In 1961, they moved back to the Melbourne area, and in 1966 they moved to London. They returned to Melbourne in 1969 and exhibited their work extensively in Australia. Hatton Beck died on Nov. 24, 1994. Lucy Boyd Beck died on April 8, 2009.
