Margaret Thompson trained at Goldsmith’s Art Institute and was an artist and designer with a multitude of talents. At Goldsmiths she won a silver Medal for Applied Design in 1897and the following tear won a Gold Medal at the Royal College. Her background was, as a result, one of an artist rather than a commercial designer. She joined Doulton at some time before the issuing to them of the Royal Warrant in 1902 when they became Royal Doulton.
Her forte was faience murals and vases with fairy tale motifs. Her initial output was that of unique vases with designs with many similarities to those of Arthur Rackham and Mabel Lucy Attwell. In her time she used her considerable talents to produce murals of ceramic tiles for many children’s wards in hospitals all over the world. Examples of her work are, or were, in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle-upon-tyne, St Thomas’s hospital in London, and many other hospitals.
The production of faience work at Doulton’s Lambeth factory dwindled after the turn of the 20th century. The colour changes that the pigments underwent during firing meant that only the most experienced artists could produce the quality that was needed, and by about 1910 production virtually ceased: the cost of production and the shortage of skilled artists were the main factors in its demise. After this Doultons concentrated production on the stoneware items.
