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Harry Memmott (1921-1991) was an Australian ceramic pottery artist.

Harry Attridge Memmott was born in Brisbane, Queensland in 1921, the son of Harry Memmott, a bootmaker and his wife Amy Sandison.^[1] He spent his childhood in Annerley.^[2] His grandfather, J.T. Sandison, who had trained at Bendigo Pottery, owned a pottery works in Annerley and in addition to the kilns, they had a rich supply of local clay.^[3][4] Sandison was known for his speed of throwing and large pots, with most of his work in the creation of pots for gardens.^[3] Memmott studied art at the Brisbane Technical College with a growing circle of local artists. He married Estelle “Cootch” Powell in 1943,^[3] and after serving in World War II in the army intelligence unit, he took up the offer of retraining which was generally made available to former servicemen.^[5] He completed a Fine Art course at the East Sydney Technical College alongside John Rigby, Margaret Cilento and Margaret Olley.^[6][3]

Memmott, his wife “Cootch”, who would later take up pottery and twin sons returned to Brisbane in 1950 and he set up a business making silk screen prints and picture frames.^[2] Sandison pottery was being run by Memmott's uncle, George Sandison and former industrial chemist, Mervyn Feeney.^[7] Mass production of pots overseas closed most of the commercial Brisbane pottery firms in the early 1950s.^[3] Memmott learnt to throw pots on a wheel at Sandisons under the guidance of George Sandison's partner, Mervin Feeney, alongside another artist and radio announcer, Milton Moon.^{[8][4][9][10]} In the mid-1950s, Memmott took over a section of the works and produced studio pottery^[11] and a range of souvenir wares for commercial markets, featuring Aboriginal designs and other works designed for the holiday souvenir market,^[12] fired in an electric kiln.^[3]

In the late 1950s, Memmott began a studio pottery school. He visited Japan in the late 1960s and moved to the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, to take up a position at the Prahran Technical College.^[2][13] His wife took over the studio pottery business.^[14]

In 1970 Memmott published The Australian Pottery Book - a way with clay: the comprehensive guide to pottery. He returned to Brisbane in 1977, and continued to work as a potter until 1985. He died in 1991.^[15]

The Sandison Pottery site was sold and a housing estate known as Potter's Place was proposed for the area to honour its legacy.^[16] Memmott's pieces are marked with 'Harry Memmott' on their base and are sought after by collectors and galleries.^[17]