Gifts from the Fire: American Ceramics, 1880–1950

By Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen and Martin Eidelberg

This vivid overview of late-nineteenth to early-twentieth-century American ceramics and ceramists reveals how artists in the United States drew upon diverse, global influences to produce works of astonishing variety and ingenuity. Inspiration from Asian traditions and European movements—from Arts and Crafts and Art Deco to the modernism of Matisse and the Wiener Werkstätte—lead American artists to develop new designs, decorations, and techniques. The more than 180 exemplary works from the collection of Martin Eidelberg in this book—some of these never before published—include objects by Rookwood, Grueby, and Van Briggle potteries, as well as individuals such as Maija Grotell, George E. Ohr, Frederick Hurten Rhead, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Rockwell Kent, Adelaide Alsop Robineau, and Leza McVey. Engaging essays by two foremost experts on American art pottery provide a new understanding of these multifaceted works' decorative development and technical innovations.

Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen is the Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Curator of American Decorative Arts in The American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Martin Eidelberg is professor emeritus of art history at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and an independent scholar.