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Rookwood Pottery was founded in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Maria Longworth Nichols after a year of experimentation. Mrs. Nichols was from a wealthy local family with a long-time interest in art. She acknowledged later that the pottery was "an expensive luxury" that her family could afford, but it was slow to succeed. She employed competent local ceramic workers to help during the experimental years, and in 1883 turned over management of the company to a long-time friend, William Watts Taylor.
The method of decorating the earthenware shapes under the glaze with colored slips had been invented by M. Louise McLaughlin, a local rival, although the concept was based on an age-old ceramic practice of applying contrasting slip over earthenware to achieve decorative effects. Taylor reined in the experimental work of Nichols and her lady friends and created a group of standard practices that helped define Rookwood's market niche. Wares were decorated by employees who were graduates of the Cincinnati Art Academy using a limited color palette with subjects of popular interest.
The early mahogany-colored ware was referred to as Rookwood's Standard and the style suggested Old Master paintings. The ware is thoroughly marked with company logo, date of production, artist's monogram, shape number, and glaze and body types. Guides to the artists' monograms were published frequently to encourage collecting by wealthy customers. In 1889, the company became solvent. In this same year, it was awarded a Gold Medal at the Paris world's fair, placing it in the forefront of the world's potteries.
Over the years, new color palettes were developed by the artists working with the company's chemist. Rookwood's first colored matt glazes were shown at the Buffalo world's fair in 1901, and its famous Vellum glaze was introduced at the St. Louis world's fair in 1904. This was a transparent matt overglaze that could be used to make any underglaze colors have a matt appearance. Although the usual range of Rookwood's decorative subjects was rendered in the new glaze, landscapes were the most effective and popular.
ProvenanceFrom 1984
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from Jordan-Volpe Gallery, New York on October 30, 1984. [1]
Notes:
[1] Invoice, October 30, 1984, copy object file.
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
Vase
Decorator
Edward T. Hurley
(1869 - 1950)
Maker
Rookwood Pottery Company
(1880 - 1967)
Date1908
Mediumearthenware, wheel-thrown and decorated with underglaze slips, covered with a transparent matt glaze
DimensionsHeight: 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Other (lip circumference): 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
Other (base circumference): 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number1984.2.2
DescriptionA pottery vase of elongated bell shape wheel-thrown by an anonymous Rookwood potter and painted by Edward T. Hurley with underglaze slips in a continuous landscape of trees against a late sunset reflected in a still lake or stream rendered in charcoal grey, pale peach, and sage green. The whole is covered with a transparent matt glaze.Rookwood Pottery was founded in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Maria Longworth Nichols after a year of experimentation. Mrs. Nichols was from a wealthy local family with a long-time interest in art. She acknowledged later that the pottery was "an expensive luxury" that her family could afford, but it was slow to succeed. She employed competent local ceramic workers to help during the experimental years, and in 1883 turned over management of the company to a long-time friend, William Watts Taylor.
The method of decorating the earthenware shapes under the glaze with colored slips had been invented by M. Louise McLaughlin, a local rival, although the concept was based on an age-old ceramic practice of applying contrasting slip over earthenware to achieve decorative effects. Taylor reined in the experimental work of Nichols and her lady friends and created a group of standard practices that helped define Rookwood's market niche. Wares were decorated by employees who were graduates of the Cincinnati Art Academy using a limited color palette with subjects of popular interest.
The early mahogany-colored ware was referred to as Rookwood's Standard and the style suggested Old Master paintings. The ware is thoroughly marked with company logo, date of production, artist's monogram, shape number, and glaze and body types. Guides to the artists' monograms were published frequently to encourage collecting by wealthy customers. In 1889, the company became solvent. In this same year, it was awarded a Gold Medal at the Paris world's fair, placing it in the forefront of the world's potteries.
Over the years, new color palettes were developed by the artists working with the company's chemist. Rookwood's first colored matt glazes were shown at the Buffalo world's fair in 1901, and its famous Vellum glaze was introduced at the St. Louis world's fair in 1904. This was a transparent matt overglaze that could be used to make any underglaze colors have a matt appearance. Although the usual range of Rookwood's decorative subjects was rendered in the new glaze, landscapes were the most effective and popular.
ProvenanceFrom 1984
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from Jordan-Volpe Gallery, New York on October 30, 1984. [1]
Notes:
[1] Invoice, October 30, 1984, copy object file.
Published References
Status
On viewCollections