International studio (24.1904/1905(1905))

Notes on the Crafts

for clay-mixing and tile-pressing. Steam and elec-
tric power were introduced to prepare the crude
material for the final processes, which are done by
hand, the Grueby workers still believing that no
mechanical device can replace the old-time skill
of hand and brain. Every tile of more than one
colour is painted by hand before the last firing;
every bit of pottery is turned on the potter’s wheel,
and each is given an individual character by the
modeller who completes its design.
Two points of special interest distinguish the
Grueby Pottery. The revival of the use of the pot-
ter’s wheel gives to its forms the life and freedom
natural to the plastic clay, while the enamels are
of that colour and quality of surface which satisfy
the eye and invite the touch. This peculiar texture
can be compared to the smooth surface of a melon
or the bloom of a leaf, avoiding the extreme bril-
liancy of high glazes as well as the dull monotony
of what is called the “mat finish.”
Besides its form and colour the pottery is often
further enriched by decoration in low relief. This
is done while the clay is still in a plastic state, the
designs being drawn and incised or modelled upon

the surface after the form or profile of the vase has
been shaped by the potter.
A fine piece of pottery is essentially an object of
utility as well as of decoration. In no way does the
Grueby ware fulfill these two purposes more com-
pletely than in its lamp forms, whether for oil or
electricity. The Grueby-Tiffany lamp combines


NEW YORK SUBWAY FAIENCE.
BY ROOKWOOD POTTERY COMPANY

two recent products of the Applied Arts, the sup-
port for the bronze fitting being a Grueby jar made
for that special purpose, completed by a leaded or
blown-glass shade of Tiffany design and workman-
ship.
As regards design and decoration, this part of the
work is under the direction of Mr. Addison B. Le
Boutillier, who is aiming to use the glazes and
enamels discovered by Mr. Grueby, on forms both
useful and decorative. There is in the unfolding
leaves of the lily and plantain and mullein, not only
the suggestion, but the actual representation of the
natural form and colour, yet so restrained by
arrangement of line and surface that
the forms are firm and conventional.
Instead of the mechanical formality
which has so often been mistaken
for precision, every surface and line
evince the appreciative touch of the
artist’s hand. As in the old wares,
there are no two pieces that are
exactly alike, for while the general
form may be maintained, every de-
tail is a matter of individual regard.
Coming now to the practical evi-
dences of Grueby production, one of
the most considerable is their con-
tribution to the decorations of the
New York Subway, under the direc-
tion of the architects Messrs. Heins
and La Farge. No less than sixteen
of the subway stations were tiled
and decorated by the Grueby Pot-
tery Co. The illustrations which
we show of the Grueby work are
chiefly of tiled fire-places and por-
tions of special designs carried out in the construc-
tion of bathrooms in private houses. Several of
the fire-places are photographed direct from Mr.
T. W. Lawson’s house, “Dreamwold,” at Cohas-
set, Mass. Particularly interesting it is to notice
the frieze of horses, for which the owner gave the
idea to the artist to carry out; it being well known


DETAIL OF DESIGN FROM BATHROOM AT “DREAMWOLD.”
GRUEBY POTTERY COMPANY

XCV