Lura Woodside Watkins Exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

Massachusetts author Lura Woodside Watkins (1897-1982) is likely most well known today for Early New England Potters and Their Wares, which was published by Harvard University in 1950. It is a wonderful body of work, especially her academic research and archaeology of red earthenware production in New England.

But Watkins also owned a great pottery collection, much of which was published in her book, and most of it was acquired just before her death by the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. The remainder of the collection was donated a few years back by her son, Malcolm Watkins (1911-2001) to Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

Interestingly, most people may not remember or like myself are not old enough to have seen the Watkins exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute. The museum exhibited many of the published red earthenware objects in the 1980s from Early New England Potters and Their Wares. A pamphlet was also printed, and these black and white photos show how the exhibit actually appeared.

Lura Woodside Watkins Exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute

Lura Woodside Watkins (1897-1982) Exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute

These Objects were all Illustrated in Early New England Potters and Their Wares

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Photo Courtesy: Smithsonian Institute

Lura Woodside Watkins (1897-1982) Exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute

These Objects were all Illustrated in Early New England Potters and Their Wares

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Smithsonian Institute

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