Reginald Haggar (1905 - 1988)

Reginald Haggar, born in 1905 in Ipswich, Suffolk, was a renowned painter, ceramicist, and educator who made significant contributions to the Potteries art scene.

As well as being an accomplished painter, Haggar was well known for his ceramic work and publications, rising to assistant art director at Mintons in Stoke-on-Trent in 1929. He later became head of art for Stoke Art School and Burslem Art School, where he became known for his painting and illustration work.

As principal of art at The Burslem School of Art, Haggar taught many notable artists including Arthur Berry, Norman Cope, John Shelton, and later Jack Simcock in the 1940s.

Haggar was also the founder and president of The Staffordshire Society of Artists for many years. During this time he was a great supporter of Jack Simcock in his student days at Burslem, encouraging him to exhibit his works with the society early on. Simcock describes him warmly in his autobiography Simcock Mowcop.

Many of Haggar's works, including those of the Potteries such as The Cooperage in Lytton Street, Stoke 1969 and November Sun at Longport, are held in public collections across the UK.

He studied at The Royal College of Art and died in 1988.