Myrtle Merritt French | |
---|---|
Born | 1887 |
Died | 1970 (aged 82–83) |
Alma mater | Alfred University |
Known for | Ceramicist |
Myrtle Merritt French (1886-1970) was an American ceramicist. She is known for founding the Hull-House Kilns program and for directing the program from 1927 to 1937. [1]
French studied with Charles Fergus Binns at Alfred University. She went on to teach at Alfred, the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. French began teaching at Hull House in 1924. The program became an income generating concern in 1927, producing decorative pottery and dinnerware. [2] French was able to facilitate exhibiting Hull-House Kilns artists at the Art Institute of Chicago. [3]
An essay by Scott A. Vermillion for the International Museum of Dinnerware Design presents the opinion that French's designs can be seen as an influence for Fiesta dinnerware. [4]
Pewabic Pottery is a ceramic studio and school in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1903, the studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The pottery continues in operation today, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991.
Peter Voulkos was an American artist of Greek descent. He is known for his abstract expressionist ceramic sculptures, which crossed the traditional divide between ceramic crafts and fine art. He established the ceramics department at the Los Angeles County Art Institute and at UC Berkeley.
Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880–1942) was a ceramicist and a major figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. A native of England, he worked as a potter in the United States for most of his career. In addition to teaching pottery techniques, Rhead was highly influential in both studio and commercial pottery. He worked for the Roseville Pottery, established his own Rhead Pottery (1913–1917), and in 1935 designed the highly successful Fiesta ware for Homer Laughlin China Company.
Elizabeth Woodman was an American ceramic artist.
The Fiesta Tableware Company is a ceramics manufacturer located in Newell, West Virginia, United States. Established in 1871, it is widely known for its Art Deco glazed dinnerware line, Fiesta. In 2002, The New York Times called Fiesta "the most collected brand of china in the United States".
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Enella Benedict was an American realism and landscape painter. She taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was a founder and director for nearly 50 years for the Art School at the Hull House.
Barbara Crane was an American artist photographer born in Chicago, Illinois. Crane worked with a variety of materials including Polaroid, gelatin silver, and platinum prints among others. She was known for her experimental and innovative work that challenges the straight photograph by incorporating sequencing, layered negatives, and repeated frames. Naomi Rosenblum notes that Crane "pioneered the use of repetition to convey the mechanical character of much of contemporary life, even in its recreational aspects."
Susan Harnly Peterson was an American artist, ceramics teacher, author and professor.
Elizabeth A. T. Smith is an American art historian, museum curator, writer, and presently the executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. She has formerly held positions as a curator at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), the chief curator and deputy director of programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the executive director, curatorial affairs, at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She is the author of numerous books on art and architecture, including Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses; Lee Bontecou: A Retrospective, Helen Frankenthaler: Composing with Color, 1962–63, and many others.
Aram Han Sifuentes is a Korean American social practice fiber artist, writer, curator, and an adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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