The Important John Paul Remensnyder Collection of American Stoneware at the Smithsonian

There are many great examples of eighteenth and nineteenth century American stoneware in existence today, owned by both private collectors and museums; however, I have been very fortunate to see some of the better museum objects, such as Adam Weitsman's collection at the New York State Museum, the collection in the Albany Museum of Art, the Elie Nadelman Collection at the New York Historical Society, the collection at the Brooklyn Museum, the collection at the Bennington Museum, as well as the objects owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

But the John Paul Remensnyder (1898-1981) Collection at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. is also an important collection of stoneware, which rivals any other important museum collection. It is also a collection that may not be recognized today as much as it should be, when compared to the appreciation that it once received, especially when it was on display at the Smithsonian in the 1970s.

Mr. Remensyder was an important twentieth-century New York collector, who pursued the best in American stoneware during the same period when some of the early-to-mid-twentieth century books and magazine articles were published on domestic utilitarian pottery. He was also collecting at the same time as was Henry Francis Dupont at Winterthur, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), among many other notable collectors.

According to an obituary published in the New York Times in 1981, "Mr. Remensnyder was born in the Bronx, and he went to work at Heyden Chemical in 1920. He was named a director and vice president in 1944, president in 1950 and chairman of the board in 1952. But his avocation of collecting antique stoneware and metalware also brought him fame. His acquisitions have been shown and then donated to museums throughout the northeast. 

Among the principal showings was his 150-piece stoneware collection at the Smithsonian Institution in 1978 and 1979, representing the product of a hobby that began more than a half century ago."

A circa 1793-1812 stoneware jar, made by Thomas Commeraw in Manhattan was recently published from the Remensnyder Collection in a feature story for the 2014 edition of Ceramics in America. The article was written by Bonnie Lilienfeld Campbell, who is the curator of the ceramics department for National Museum of American History; the article was titled, "My Ten Favorite Objects from the National Museum of American History."

For all the stoneware that Mr. Remensnyder collected, these are probably my favorite two pieces from the collection; although, there are many great pieces to choose from. It's really a well-represented collection that demonstrates some of the best American stoneware potters (and aesthetics) from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Two of My Favorite Objects from the J.P. Remensnyder Collection at the Smithsonian

 19th Century Incised Stoneware Water Cooler, New York

J.P. Remensnyder Collection at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

18th/19th Century Incised Stoneware Pitcher, Manhattan, NY

J.P. Remensnyder Collection at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

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