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The art pottery movement began in the 1870s in America and Britain, coinciding roughly with the beginning of the Arts and Crafts movement, which gained momentum in the 1880s. Art pottery was more elaborate than utilitarian pottery, and early pieces were usually hand-decorated, signed by the artist, and produced in limited numbers.
Many companies known for their art pottery, like Rookwood, Roseville, Frankoma, and Weller, were founded in the American Midwest in the 1880s and 1890s. Drawing on local deposits of clay and minerals, most of these companies started by making simple, decorative pottery pieces or utilitarian pieces such as flowerpots and other garden ware.
What ultimately set these companies apart were their ornamental designs. Rookwood and other Midwestern companies took inspiration from Asian designs and Art Nouveau styles, creating pieces that were both functional and beautiful. They worked in a variety of popular forms, from vases to bowls to wall sconces and decorative tiles...
Some art pottery makers, like Rookwood, eventually grew into large operations, producing pieces in quantity and marketing them nationally via department stores and catalogs. But many smaller studios also thrived in the heyday of hand thrown and decorated art pottery.
Other noteworthy makers of art pottery include Hull, McCoy, Charles Volkmar, Chelsea Keramic, Lonhuda, George Ohr, Newcomb College, Grueby Faience, Adelaide Alsop Robineau, Artus Van Briggle, and the Saturday Evening Girls.
In the U.S., interest in art pottery waned in the 1940s and many once-famous companies disappeared.
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by Interviews & Articles
Diablitos in the Details: The Curious Tale of Mexico's Most Peculiar Pottery
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Who Killed American Kitsch?
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Stuart Lonsdale Explains the History and Design of Gouda Pottery
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Cowan Art Pottery of the Art Deco Era
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American Art Pottery
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Bowes Curator Howard Coutts on Meissen, Staffordshire, and Sèvres
I’m the curator of the ceramics bit of the Bowes Museum. It’s a big museum with 30 galleries of which three or four are devoted to… [more]
On the Trail of an Art Pottery Mystery
Back in 1996, I picked up this small pottery display plaque/sign advertising Rozart Pottery's Twainware line. I love Mark Twain—an… [more]
Pennsylvania Pin-Decorated Slipware
A goal for the collector is old pin-decorated slipware. Even run-of-the-mill slipware does not grow on trees, since its value was … [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Gouda Design
Stuart Lonsdale and Kim Lindley's excellent tribute to and reference on Gouda Dutch Art Pottery and Delftware. The … [read review or visit site]
Cowan Pottery Museum Associates
Dedicated to raising awareness of the ceramic art work of R. Guy Cowan and his Cowan Pottery Studio in northeastern… [read review or visit site]
The Pottery Studio
This 7,000-plus page site lives up to its self-billing as a 'knowledge base' with examples of work from all major a… [read review or visit site]
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Recent News: Art Pottery
Source: Google News
Local galleries & museums
The Daily Progress, June 18thThe gallery shop also features contemporary art, pottery, sculpture and other crafts by numerous Virginia artisans. Camps and classes are offered for all ages. 129 E. Main St., Orange. (540) 672-7311; www.artscenterorange.org. The Bridge Progressive...Read more
Solstice Arts Festival has eclectic appeal
The Shippensburg News-Chronicle, June 18thVisitors had plenty of fine art to peruse like paintings, photography, jewelry, airbrush art, pottery and more. The glass blowing demonstrations by Michael Peluso were a fan-favorite as well. “The focus of the festival has always been on the fine arts...Read more
CHELSEA: Silver Maples seeks artists for annual Harvest Art Market
Heritage Newspapers, June 18thThe 6th annual show will feature over 20 Michigan area artists and craftsmen showing watercolor, folk art, pottery, fiber arts, glass works, original photography, vintage art and more. "Our goal is provide a nice 'market-mix' of art. We're looking for...Read more
Downtown Dunedin welcomes annual craft festival
Tampa Bay Newspapers, June 17thThe festival will feature a vast array of craft media such as folk art, pottery, personalized gifts, handmade clothing, basket weaving, beaded utensils, candles, cork assemblage, fabric design, fiber quilts, fused wax & glass, hair accessories...Read more
East Peoria art fair attracts artists from all over the Midwest
Peoria Journal Star, June 16thWatkins, who works for McKenzie River Potter in Washington, and Grant, who works at Wheel Art Pottery Studios in Peoria, made the pottery before the fair and left them as blank canvasses, allowing patrons to come in and paint their own designs on the ...Read more
So Cincinnati: City's Art Legacy
WKRC TV Cincinnati, June 12thBy 1860 art pottery emerged: more artistic than useful. A Cincinnati woman found a way to decorate under the glaze. "Never had that for the first thousand years of pottery-colors would fire out. One Cincinnatian, Louise McLaughin, discovered the...Read more
Exhibition of Ohio pottery begins Saturday
Zanesville Times Recorder, June 11thNext came the studio pottery movement, which evolved out of art pottery through the work of individual artists, through changes in technology, and through changes in American and European culture, according to the release. The pottery made in...Read more
Fine art pottery exhibit full of happy surprises
TheChronicleHerald.ca, June 7thSusan Charles, executive director of the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design, doesn't want to ruin the surprise in Variations on Symmetry, so she won't send out press images of certain displays. That's because this exhibit, by ceramic artists Eliza...Read more