It was founded on the site of the former Western Clay Manufacturing Company in 1951 by brickmaker Archie Bray, a philanthropist and avid patron of the arts.
Although Bray died in 1953,[1] his foundation survived the 1960 closure of Western Clay and in 1984 purchased the abandoned brickyard building and kilns.
Today the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts is internationally acclaimed[2] and the building is listed on the American National Register of Historic Places as the "Western Clay Manufacturing Company".
[3] Their professor at Montana State College, Frances Senska, friends with Bray, encouraged them to take advantage of his clay studio.
To pay their way, they worked in the brick factory during the day and created their own pottery in the evenings.