How To Collect American Art Pottery

What Is It, Where Is It, and How Much Should I Pay For It?

American art pottery has remained a hot collectible for over 25 years, collected by school teachers, major museums, and the rich and famous alike. These decorative ceramics are available in all styles and price ranges, offering not only an attractive element to add to one’s abode but also a glimpse into America’s recent past. This article provides an introduction into this fascinating art form, with direction for more advanced reading for those whose interest is piqued.

What Is It?

Art pottery was produced across America from about 1880 to about 1920, the work of nearly 200 makers ranging in size from huge factories to one guy in a basement with a bucket of mud. While there are numerous regional styles and variations, it can be accurately stated that there were two basic types of ware produced.

One, more Victorian in its approach, treated the clay body of the pot as though it were a canvas on which to paint. The potteries of the Ohio Valley, such as Cincinnati’s Rookwood, or nearby Zanesville’s Roseville and Weller Potteries, were purveyors of wares created in this style. The other method, typified by the Grueby Pottery of Boston, was more in keeping with the tenets of the Arts & Crafts Movement, and sculpted or tooled a more stylized, organic decoration into the surface of the pot, unifying the vessel and the design into a single expression.

The evolution of ceramic design in America spoke volumes about our country’s aesthetic growth. Prior to the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia we were a continent exploring its boundaries, more concerned with building railroads and ducking arrows than making pretty things for the home.

But the centennial display of decorative arts from Europe and beyond sent shock waves through American society. Soon luminaries such as Maria Longworth Nichols and Mary Louise McLaughlin returned to their native Cincinnati and began producing relatively crude American copies of finer European copies of superior Asian ceramics.

Nichols founded the now famous Rookwood Pottery in 1880, where this Victorian-style flourished. Rookwood quickly evolved into America’s premier, hand-decorated factory-produced art pottery, maturing as it moved through the subsequent styles of Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, and Moderne before closing its doors in 1965.

The Grueby Pottery (1896-1917) was a more short-lived operation—riding the rise and fall of the Arts & Crafts Movement—however their artware remains the truest expression of this important era in American design. Considered the perfect complement to fine Period furniture by leading designer Gustav Stickley, these organic masterpieces were hand thrown, individually decorated, and covered with rich, vegetal matte glazes.

William Grueby’s pottery was a fraction of the size of the Rookwood operation, and while some division of labor remained and the product did not meet the Arts & Crafts ideal of “one person, one pot” as George Ohr and W. J. Walley had done, by any standard, it was a more intimate affair, with most of the modeling and glazing produced by a small staff of artists.

These two examples illustrate the disparities that defined and compelled the field of American decorative ceramics. Rookwood was almost entirely molded ware, while Grueby’s hollow ware (as opposed to their art tile) was always hand thrown. Rookwood divided labor between many people in different parts of a large factory complex (form designer, slip-caster, decorator, glazier, finisher, and kiln master), while Grueby limited those involved to thrower, designer/glazier, and kiln master. Finally, Rookwood remained this country’s most long-lived producer, whereas Grueby was a one-trick pony that expired along with the end of the Arts & Crafts Movement. But what a fine trick it was.

Where to Find It

Learning about art pottery is easier than ever, which is the upside of its becoming so popular (the downside is, of course, that it’s more expensive than it used to be). In the past two decades, several major museums have added extensive collections of America’s best ceramists. There are now hundreds of books available on most of the famous, and not-so-famous producers. And there are always new museum exhibitions showcasing both single artists as well as surveys of period work.

While viewing these public collections is an excellent place to start, this can be a little frustrating because pottery, more than most other art forms, needs to be held to be understood. This is particularly true of the 100-odd producers of Arts & Crafts ware. These fine matte glazes are as inviting to the touch as to the eye.

The perfect remedy is to view pieces in person whenever possible, at one of the specialty shows or auctions which periodically take place across the country. An auction of twentieth-century collectibles, for example, might contain hundreds of pieces of art pottery, all on display and mostly available to pick up and hold. Even smaller auctions, those with a dozen or fewer offerings, can provide more valuable information to the new collector than any book ever written. There are a handful of professional art pottery shows that take place annually, which offer an unequalled opportunity to both see art pottery up close and meet others who share your interests.

This being said, there are hundreds of related books that are essential reading to any student of the period. Budding ceramaphiles must read several of these and at the end of this article is a comprehensive list. If you combine historical background, seeing and handling pieces in person, and interacting with the community of collectors, you will have chosen the safest and most enjoyable route to establishing a solid pottery addiction.

How Much to Spend

Determining how much to pay remains an issue because, unlike the other elements of collecting, this is more of a moving target. Like any other market, prices are subject to change at any time and those changes are usually upward. Other variables that come into play include where you find it, what condition it’s in, and how beautiful/successful it’s deemed to be. A product’s “freshness,” or how exposed to the market it is, also counts.

For example, Fulper Pottery was made in Flemington, New Jersey, and even though it was distributed throughout America, it remains most available in the Garden State. Consequently, prices for more common Fulper pieces are usually lower in New Jersey. On the other hand, better pieces of Fulper are usually more expensive in New Jersey because the availability of the product also serves to create a more discerning brand of collector.

Damage affects the value of a piece in different ways, depending upon the type and extent of the flaw and the mindset of the buyer of a particular sort of ware. For example, Rookwood’s ceramic is almost photorealist in its decorative approach. An iris blossom should look, well, like an iris blossom. Rookwood collectors have set, and maintained, the standard for the importance of perfection. Even the slightest damage, such as a small chip of drill hole through the base, will reduce a piece’s value by as much as 50 percent.

Arts & Crafts collectors are more forgiving, however. The work of Biloxi, Mississippi, potter George Ohr is all one-of-a-kind artware (”God made no two souls alike and I’ll make no two pots alike,” was one of his fondest proclamations). If you like the expression of a certain piece, you’ll have to take it in the condition it’s in because there won’t be another. While mild damage will still reduce value on potteries such as Ohr and Grueby, the drop in price may be limited to only 10 or 20 percent.

Fortunately for the new collector, there is more pricing information available than ever before. Online sales of art pottery show thousands of pieces and online price guides offer compilations of auction results from across the nation. Live auctions are usually accompanied by color catalogs, some of which even include accurate condition reports (essential if a price is to have any meaning). Adding this to the immediate pricing available at antiques shows will give you a reasonable level of working knowledge.

Your interests are best served if your enjoyment of art pottery includes the people you meet and the history that spawned the art form, in addition to the material itself. The best advice I’ve ever heard can be summed up in one sentence: Take your time, do your research, attend auctions and shows, and remember to have fun.

David Rago has been a specialist in American Arts & Crafts decorative arts and furnishings for 30 years: he has published nearly 500 articles and is a popular lecturer on the subject nationwide. He is a frequent appraiser on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, the editor and co-publisher of the magazine Style: 1900, and the host of ragoarts.com. He is an exclusive online content partner with Antiques America.