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Cowan Pottery The following article appeared in WPA Press, Vol. 5, July 2000
Cowan Pottery Presentation by Mark Bassett At the May 2000 meeting of the Wisconsin Pottery Association, Mark Bassett shared a most interesting presentation of Cowan Pottery/Cleveland School. This report was written from notes on Mark’s talk and from his 1997 text, written with Victoria Naumann, Cowan Pottery and the Cleveland School. R. Guy Cowan’s first job upon graduating from the New York School of Clay-working and Ceramics at Alfred University, was as an instructor at the new Cleveland Technical High School. Cowan did not initially see the position as a good fit. His interests, at that time, were in developing improved white-ware for the hotel industry. However, working with a generous and progressive principal, Cowan found the position an excellent means by which to experiment during his free time. Eventually, his aspirations to improve the white-ware industry took a back seat to V his developing interest in studio pottery. R. Guy Cowan had the opportunity, at the Cleveland School, to experiment, alone and with his students, and he eventually hired students to work Saturday mornings at his pottery in Lakewood, Ohio. The ceramic facilities that Cowan designed in Cleveland were among the first in US public schools and they received much national attention. Soon after starting the ceramics program, Cowan was mixing his own glazes and building special kilns, with the help of his college professor Charles Binns. Cowan began his foray into studio pottery in 1909. Here too he was much influenced by his former professor Binns. The Cowan Pottery was founded in Lakewood in approximately 1912. There were three functioning kilns and production included art pottery and tiles. In 1913 the Cleveland Pottery and Tile Company, Inc. was organized with Guy Cowan as president, his wife Bertha as secretary, and W.G. Wilcox, Cowan’s chemistry professor at Alfred University, as vice-president. The pottery was interrupted in 1917 when Cowan enlisted in the Army. Production ceased until 1919, when Cowan returned and reopened the Lakewood studio. In 1921, when his gas well ran empty Cowan moved his business to Rocky River, Ohio. At this point in time demand was high and many of the finer retailers were carrying Cowan pieces, retailers such as Marshall Fields and Ovingtons. Guy Cowan and the potters in his employ were some of the most talented and award-winning potters of the day. They included Guy L. Rixford, Arthur Baggs, Alexander Blazys, Thelma Frazier, Jose Martin, Walande Gregory and Victor Schreckengost. Circa 1927 the company name was changed to the Cowan Pottery Studio. A new inexpensive line was introduced, the Lakeware line, intended for use by florists. The sculpted figures continued to gain popularity. Despite earlier successes, financial difficulties resulted in a reorganization in 1929, with the resulting name change to Cowan Potters, Inc. But it was the Great Depression and the financial difficulties continued; the pottery declared bankruptcy sometime in 1930. It was operated under court supervision of the court until 1931 when the pottery was closed. Mark Bassett described, during his presentation, that an annual show called the May Show was frequently a display for Cowan pieces. This was an all media arts show for northeastern Ohio. Marks on Cowan Pottery: Most Cowan pieces were signed, using a variety of marks. All marked Cowan can be identified by the either the use of Cowan or Lakeware names, or a variety of monograms using the letters “RG”. From the Cowan Museum at the Rocky River Public Library The Cowan Pottery Museum consists of over 1100 pieces of Cowan Pottery made in Lakewood and Rocky River between 1912 and 1932. It is the largest publicly. owned collection of Cowan Pottery. It holds a significant place in American art history in that it represents a bridge, or transition, from the arts and crafts movement in art pottery exemplified by Rookwood, Roseville, Van Briggel, Grueby, Weller and others, to the modern wares of the mid-twentieth century exemplified by art deco designs of various potteries, as well as Fiesta Ware, Hall China, Syracuse China, Salem China, Catalina Ware, and the Homer Laughlin Company. In addition to mass production of a wide variety of household wares, the Cowan Studio nurtured and promoted the sculptural and studio work of individual artists by issuing limited editions of ceramic sculptures by these artists and students. For American art history, Cowan’s life-long mentorship of artistic talent is a least as significant an achievement as his pottery, if not more so. Perhaps the finest examples of commercial and artistic success are the dancing lady flower frog figurines which were patented by R. Guy Cowan as designed by him and other artists. These were complemented by bowls, vases, candleholders, comports, ash trays, and tea sets in bright and pastel hues and lustre glazes created at the Cowan Studio. Many glazes were widely copied by other firms, while a few others are not even reproducible today. - Kari Kenefick with information from www.rrpl.org/rrpl_cowan.stm — the official web site of the Cowan Pottery Museum at the Rocky River Public Library, Rocky River, Ohio. WPA Related Pages:
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