Janet Leach (1918 -1997) was born in Texas. She became a potter in her 30s and after seeing Shoji Hamada demonstrate at Black Mountain College went to work in Japan. There is a strong Japanese influence in her work (as can be seen in this example). She married the leading British potter Bernard Leach, thirty years her senior, and managed the Leach pottery at St. Ives from 1956 until her death in 1997. Bristol has a particularly good collection of her pots which are powerful and monumental in character reflecting her strong personality.