Ellen Greenway , Melbourne pot-painter

A pottery vase in Moorabool’s February sale — well painted with flowers, signed “E.G. Greenway” and marked to the base “Lesley Ware.” A web search turned up a historic property at 127 White Horse Road, Blackburn, erected 1947–49 as a factory for E.G. Greenway Pty Ltd, art pottery manufacturers. This is an interesting story almost entirely missed in the literature on Australian pottery.

Ellen was a nurse by profession, born in Fenton Creek in Central Victoria in 1894. In 1930 she started operating a ceramics decorating studio from her Northcote home, sourcing unglazed wares from the nearby Hoffmans pottery works, which she skilfully hand-painted, varnished, and sold under the trademark Lesley Art Pottery. Within just a few years her vibrant creations found a growing audience across Australia, sold through the major department stores in the larger cities.

While renowned for her Australian floral motifs, Greenway also explored the Art Deco aesthetic, crafting octagonal plates adorned with bold geometric patterns — earning her comparisons to celebrated English ceramicist Clarice Cliff (1899–1972).

In 1940, Ellen and her husband Herbert Thomas Greenway (1893–1971) relocated to 98 St David Street, Fitzroy, housing both Herbert’s Suedette Manufacturing Company and Ellen’s newly branded Mayfair Pottery Salon. By this time they had expanded into ceramic production, offering both hand-painted pieces and plain slip-moulded objects.