Klytie Pate OAM (20 October 1912 – 10 June 2010) was an Australian studio potter who emerged as an innovator in the use of unusual glazes and the extensive incising, piercing and ornamentation of earthenware pottery.
In 1931, at the age of 19, Klytie studied painting and drawing at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School under William Beckwith McInnes[4] and Charles Arthur Wheeler.
[6] She studied figure drawing and applied art under her uncle, Napier Waller, modelling under George Allen, and pottery under John Knight and Gladys Kelly.
They married in 1937, and built a weekend cottage at Montrose on the side of Mount Dandenong, an area that then teemed with bush animals and birds- favoured subjects of her pots.
Klytie strongly demonstrated the influence of "Australiana" during that period with lyre birds, kangaroos and native flowers incised into her pottery.
[7][8] "Beleura", on the Mornington Peninsula, is a historic house managed by the National Trust of Australia, Victoria, where Klytie's pottery is displayed throughout.
Over the years she managed to produce a staggering amount of pottery, much of which is distributed in private collections across Australia, which makes it difficult to grasp the scope of her work.
[10] Ceramicists who have been finalists in the previous awards include: Csongvay Blackwood, Pie Bolton, Greg Daly, Cathy Franzi, Minna Graham and Steph Wallace.