New England Art Pottery - Late 19th Into the 20th Century: A View of Utilitarian Makers Turned Art Potters

American art pottery of the late nineteenth and twentieth century is probably the most valuable of all pottery produced in America. Pieces can reach into the elite six-figure range more often than American redware typically does. Prices of special early American stoneware are probably comparable to art pottery these days. Even the most mundane examples of hand formed art pottery sell upwards of four figures. The market is obviously what drives this, but its also the idea of art taken from a canvas and placed onto clay, which makes it so special. Potters turned the idea of utilitarian forms with basic everyday glazes and the notion of occasionally producing a special glazed piece into a focus of glazes first. Eighteenth and nineteenth century potters would typically produce a number of basic glazed forms for every single boldly glazed shape. The Art Pottery Movement changed this idea. Glaze and form were presented on more formal pieces used for special occasions and more formal parts of the household. The kitchen was no one longer the lone focus. The diner room, formal table or a special ornament that sat prominently centered in a front room window became an importance.

I am not typically a person who buys American Art Pottery, but I totally understand why people do. It is the most artistic form of pottery - where potters really expressed themselves. The potter really transcended into an artist. That's not to say redware and stoneware should not be viewed as art - because both of these mediums are strong examples of true American folk art. Art pottery became a clay canvas of formal art.

The art pottery that really interests me are those potters who's product appeared as a glazed red clay - just like the products of early utilitarian redware potters. Many of the more common examples of art pottery found today are molded - and that shows more of an urgency to mass produce their product than anything else. That's truly what the Industrial Revolution turned the American potter into.  A mold was created and from that - it was mass produced. Many of these forms showed great glazes after the mold was removed from the industrial-warehouse style kiln, but the true potter is not shown in these wares. The business is seen, but the pottery lacks the potter's personality.

There are dozens of important potters involved with the Art Pottery Movement. Many worked under a single name where a group of women gathered together and produced pottery; i.e. The Saturday Evening Girls, Marblehead Pottery…etc, but those are brands. I personally feel they got away from the whole notion of the country potter. There were potters under the Art Pottery Movement who I feel were still adapted to the idea of the country potter.

I prefer the potters who still hold an idea of the utilitarian potter in their product. Despite its appearance, there was still an understanding of who that early potter was in the way they approached their business. The utilitarian potter's business changed after 1880. More durable, cheaper products had really eliminated the need of utilitarian redware. Many potters were forced to adapt or else they were forced out of business. Florist wares and the most basic forms of earthenware were still in demand. The only state I can see that did not entirely give into this industry change was Pennsylvania. In some areas, the country potter kept with the traditional styles; however, others were forced to change. The Shenandoah Valley Potters of Virginia (after 1880) produced a hybrid of utilitarian forms, which showed artistry and all embodied unusual colorful glazes and sometime forms. I view the potters of this area as a cross between the utilitarian potter's and the Art Pottery Movement. It's the New England art potters that embodied this same notion of the Shenandoah Valley Potters that I enjoy. There are really only two potters who I place in this category.

 J. Eberly & Co. - Strasburg, Va

Ca. 1892-1903
Sold by Crocker Farm, Inc - Sparks, Md

Photo Courtesy: The Barnes Foundation - Philadelphia, Pa

J. Eberly & Co. - Strasburg, Va

Ca. Late 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Jeffrey Evans & Associates - Mount Crawford, Va

Two potters in particular stand out to me; Thomas Nickerson of Newburyport, Massachusetts and William J. Walley of West Sterling, Massachusetts. I view both of these potter's products to be similar to the potters of the Shenandoah Valley. Their wares were all utilitarian in purpose, but the glazes and forms crossed-over into art pottery.

Nickerson was an English trained potter who began a company in Portland, Maine before relocating to the Merrimac River in Newburyport - hence how the  company name, Merrimac Pottery Company was founded. His businesses really began where the utilitarian potter's movement ended with the production of floral wares. Many utilitarian potters were left with no other option than to produce garden wares. That's where Nickerson saw a market demand. He produced floral products from 1897 until 1901 when he altered the product line to fancy more of what the Art Pottery Movement had changed the potter's industry into - an industry that catered to more formal products. The company was short lived when a massive fire destroyed the businesses in 1908. Nickerson never rebuilt afterwards. I really view Nickerson as how any American utilitarian potter would have built their company in a suburb of a major American city at the turn of the twentieth century. I also like the fact that his wares showed a red clay in the final product and he also hand-turned most pieces.

Southern Maine country potters who worked west of Portland were known for their glaze experimentation from 1820-1880. Nickerson (originally from Maine) shared that idea with a huge amount of glaze experimentation. He really reminds me of a how a throwback utilitarian potter would have appeared in 1900. Nickerson still made household products like cups and mugs to go along with his art pottery vases.

To add archaeology to this report - excavation of any art potter's site would yield a tremendous amount of important information. It doesn't matter the potter. The curator of the Old Newbury Historical Society, Jay Williamson and past president, Chris Snow have dug at the Merrimac Pottery site. They have found some impressive results, which are kept at the historical society in Newburyport, Massachusetts. I hope to bring more information about these shards in future reports.

Redware Floral Products Made at the Merrimac Pottery Company

Ca. 1897-1901
Newburyport, Ma

Merrimac Pottery Company Redware Vase - Newburyport, Ma

Ca. 1902-1908

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc - Boston & Marlborough, Ma

William J. Walley was involved with the New England utilitarian stoneware business in the 1870s. He was employed at the F.B. Norton stoneware company in Worcester, Massachusetts - producing forms commonly associated with the stoneware industry of the late nineteenth century. Around 1890, he purchased the old Wachuset Pottery (owned by Marcus Snow and Henry Coolidge) about fifteen miles form Worcester. Wachuset Pottery was known for making red earthenware and other products. The company was the largest earthenware company in Central Massachusetts from its start in 1820. Clay was reportedly harvested from the local Stillwater River. Walley probably used the same clay source. Walley's company made flower pots and art ware with fancy glazes until his death in 1917. He was born in England before leaving for America. He probably trained their, too.  Walley's influences and inspiration was large from all the industries he was involved with. He also worked in parts of Canada and Ohio before arriving in Massachusetts. I also like the fact his product showed red clay as well.

West Sterling Pottery Tin Trade Sign
Larte 19th Century

West Sterling, Ma

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc - Boston & Marlborough, Ma

William J. Walley Redware Vase - West Sterling, Ma

Ca. 1895-1917

Possibly West Sterling, Ma Terracotta (Redware) Flower Pots

Similar to forms Lura Woodside Watkins Attributes to West Sterling in Her Collection
All Late 19th Century

I suggest anyone who enjoys the studies of early American utilitarian pottery - whether it being in redware, stoneware or both - to find a way to appreciate the industry that followed it. I personally find an interest in the potters who were apart of the Art Pottery Movement who had ties to the earlier industry. A few others who may be of interest are William Grueby (South Boston, Ma), Hugh Robertson (Revere & Dedham, Ma) and George Ohr (Bilxoi, Miss). Much of the art pottery emerged from industry atmospheres, but there are potters who did not work this way. Anywhere from Maine to Florida, from Mississippi to Ohio, from Michigan to Louisiana and back east to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York all had potters who were tied to this movement. I promise it's worth the study if you have an interest in early art, history or pottery. The Art Pottery Movement was really the last pottery movement in the potter's industry. Studio pottery followed, but that's an arena that will likely be kept alive for as long as I can imagine.

Grueby Pottery Decorated Vase - South Boston, Ma

Late 19th or Early 20th Century

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc - Boston & Marlborough, Ma

Hugh Robertson, Chelsea Keramic Art Works (CKAW) Products - Chelsea, Ma

Late 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc - Boston & Marlborough, Ma

Hugh Robertson Pottery Vase - Dedham, Ma

Early 20th Century

Photo Courtesy: Rago Fine Arts - Lambertville, NJ

George Ohr Redware Vase - Biloxi, Ms

Probably Late 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Rago Fine Arts - Lambertville, NJ

I wonder what the colonial utilitarian potters would think of how their industry progressed into art pottery. Would they have welcomed the movement?

I really do view Thomas Nickerson and William J. Walley as potters who were not entirely apart of the Art Pottery Movement, but rather, potters who transitioned from a past industry into a new industry - just like the potters of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. George Ohr of Biloxi, Mississippi can also be held to this same type of discussion into what movement he was truly involved. with. It could possibly be the George Ohr Movement…a potter who may be the most talented of all American potters. If you have an interest…he's definitely worth a study!

George Ohr Redware Handled Pot - Biloxi, Ms

Probably Late 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Rago Fine Arts - Lambertville, NJ

George Ohr Redware Handled Pitcher - Biloxi, Ms

Probably Late 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Rago Fine Arts - Lambertville, NJ

Much More to Come...