Previews of a Porcelain Pioneer and Rago’s Upcoming Ceramic Showcase

by Kate Nixon

 

Adelaide Robineau and Art Education in the United States

 

The study of Adelaide Robineau, the talented ceramicist whose brought the practices of porcelain and high-fired glazes to individual potters and publisher of the magazine Keramic Studio, will be the next presentation in the current series of Zoom sessions from The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. The latest from “Making Her Mark: Women of the Arts and Crafts Movement” shows the professional contributions of Robineau and her role as educator, entrepreneur and Arts and Crafts design icon.

 

It is difficult to underestimate how central a player she was in the development of numerous careers and artistic education throughout the United States. – Instructor Jonathan Clancy

 

 

The series is the latest in the online offerings the non-profit organization The Stickley Museum has offered since March and has been received with great enthusiasm by both museum supporters and Arts and Crafts collectors alike. “We’ve been humbled by the enthusiastic response to these sessions, not only do they provide revenue at a time when we have been closed to the public, but they help us to keep focused on serving the needs of our membership and supporters, to sharpen and refine how we execute the Museum’s mission, and to share an afternoon a week with old friends and new, engaging our common love of the field and learning from one another,” says instructor Jonathan Clancy, whose live presentations are shown during the session.

The “Making Her Mark” series ends with the spotlight on Robineau, showing how influential she was to the movement and how her publication in particular inspired so many of the famous names in decorative art pottery. “In many ways, I think about Robineau as a central hub of the Arts and Crafts movement, someone who helped grow the connective tissue that binds so much of the field together in the first decade of the twentieth century,” says Clancy. “Keramic Studio was an important publication not only for the designs it distributed, but for the careers it touched throughout the decade.  Mary Chase Perry, the Overbook sisters, Taxile Doat – they all enjoyed a broad reputation thanks to Robineau’s recognition of their talents and the manner in which she promoted their works.” Robineau additionally published design manuals and additional treatises, and through her magazine profiled new faces, voices, and talents that helped build a generation of artists who would keep the movement going. According to Clancy, “It is difficult to underestimate how central a player she was in the development of numerous careers and artistic education throughout the United States.”

The fourth and final session of the “Making Her Mark” series, Adelaide Robineau and Art Education in the United States, starts at 1 PM Eastern on Zoom this Saturday, August 29th. Registration for the session is currently open – the fee is $25 and will go towards operational costs of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms.

Saturday, August 29 | 1 – 2pm EDT – Session #4: Adelaide Robineau and Art Education in the United States  [ Read More ]

Fee: $25

Location: ZOOM Online [ learn how ]

REGISTRATION IS OPEN [ LINK ]

 

 

A Preview: American & European Ceramics on September 11th

 

On September, Rago Arts will present two Arts and Crafts auctions on September 11th – the first will be American & European Ceramics: a showcase of American Art Ceramic examples from some of the most important collections in the country, including the collections of Robert A. Ellison, Arthur Baggs (by descent), Dr. Martin Eidelberg  and more. Works from Marblehead Pottery, George Ohr, University City, Ernest Chaplet, Sèvres, Grueby, Taxile Doat, Adelaide Robineau, Martin Brothers, and more will be up for bid in this display of the best of both American and European ceramic arts. Highlighted within the auction is a sizable and varied collection of George E. Ohr pottery of all sizes and colored glazes — Marblehead and Van Briggle Pottery are also well represented in the auction in addition to the rare and eccentric Martin Brothers lots for bid. Works with high estimates include: an exceptional and rare Marblehead Pottery vase acquired in 1989 from David Rago which has been featured in several publications, a rare Teco Pottery vase designed by William Bryce Mundie, an exceptional and rare scenic tile from Arthur Baggs for Marblehead Pottery, and a George Ohr vase featuring a detailed snake.

The auction will start 11 AM Eastern on September 11th. Interested bidders may bid through the website or through phone or absentee bids. Interested buyers may schedule a preview by emailing [email protected] or calling (609) 397-9374.

Below is a short list of items we will be keeping our eyes on. Come back next week to see how our picks did!

 

Lot 103: George E. Ohr Earthenware Vase

USA, 1906
Made of scroddled bisque earthenware

Measures: 4 h × 6¼ w × 5½ d in 10 × 16 × 14 cm

Estimate: $7,000–9,000 

Vase features an asymmetrical pinched and lobed rim. Incised signature to underside ‘GE Ohr’. Dated and inscribed to body “Mary had a little lamb and George has a pot ohr E Amen Dec 25 1906”.

Provenance: Collection of James Carpenter, New Jersey.

 

Lot 115: George E. Ohr Rare steamboat pitcher

USA, c. 1890
Made of glazed earthenware

Measures 9 h × 9½ w × 7 d in 23 × 24 × 18 cm

Estimate: $3,000–4,000

Impressed signature to handle “Geo. E. Ohr Biloxi”. This work is one of very few known examples.
Provenance: Important Private Collection
Literature: George Ohr: The Greatest Art Potter on Earth, Hecht, pg. 78

An example of this form is held in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum, New York.

 

Lot 124: Marblehead Pottery Rare vase with crouching panthers in low relief

USA, 1908-20
Made of glazed earthenware

Measures 6¾ h × 5 dia in 17 × 13 cm

Estimate: $12,000–18,000 

The panther design is most often seen on a green background, this example in blue is particularly rare and perfectly fired.
Impressed manufacturer’s mark to underside ‘MP’ with ship symbol.
Provenance: Important Private Collection
literature: From Our Native Clay: Art Pottery from the Collections of The American Ceramic Arts Society, Eidelberg (ed.), pg. 39 Beauty in Common Things: American Arts & Crafts Pottery from The Two Red Roses Foundation, Clancy and Eidelberg, pg. 91 American Art Pottery: The Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Frelinghuysen, Eidelberg, and Spinozzi, pg. 244

An example of this form and decoration is held in the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

Lot 137: George P. Kendrick for Grueby Faience Company Rare vase, model 84

USA, 1898-1910
Made of glazed earthenware

Measures 11½ h × 7½ dia in 29 × 19 cm

Estimate: $6,000–9,000 

Impressed manufacturer’s mark and model number to underside ‘Grueby Pottery Boston U.S.A. 84’ with lotus symbol.
Provenance: Important Private Collection
Literature: The Ceramics of William H. Grueby, Montgomery, plate XLVI American Arts & Crafts: Virtue in Design, Bowman, pg. 153

 

 

Lot 158: Mary Sheerer for Newcomb College Pottery Early and Rare vase

USA, 1905
Made of glazed earthenware

Measures 6½ h × 6 dia in 17 × 15 cm

Estimate: $3,500–4,500

Vase features a rare copper red glaze. Glazed manufacturer’s mark to underside ‘NC’. Glazed signature and date to underside ‘MS AS21’.
Provenance: Important Private Collection
Literature: Newcomb Pottery: An Enterprise for Southern Women 1895-1940, Poesch, ppg. 50-51 The Arts & Crafts of Newcomb Pottery, Conradsen, Denker, et. al., ppg. 119, 127

 

Lot 246: Adelaide Robineau Rare vase

USA, c. 1915
Made of cobalt crystalline glazed porcelain

Measures: 4 h × 5 dia in 10 × 13 cm

Estimate: $5,000–7,000 

Incised signature and number to underside ‘RP 319 15’.
Provenance: Important Private Collection

If you’d like to learn more about Adelaide Robineau, see information about this weekend’s Zoom class above.

 

 

Next week, we will preview the Early 20th Century Auction from Rago Arts, also starting on September 11th.