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FRIDAY OCTOBER 25, 2024 • VOL. 54, NO. 43
Gerry Williams: Influential New Hampshire Studio Potter, Part One By Rick Russack Who was Gerry Williams (1926-2014)? He was, perhaps, one of the most creative, influential and successful utilitarian/ functional studio potters of the second half of the 20th century. He lived and worked in Dunbarton, N.H., for more than 50 years. There were numerous solo exhibitions of his work. His works were also included in several prestigious international shows, including one at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1969. His works are presently in several museum collections. In 1976, a documentary film was devoted to his life and work and distributed by the Public Broadcasting System. Two years later in 1978, he was interviewed for the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art oral history project, one of fewer than 100 potters who have been interviewed. He would later conduct interviews of other potters for the Smithsonian. In 1998, the governor of New Hampshire designated him as the state’s first Artist Laureate. He was the recipient of numerous other awards and prizes. He experimented endlessly, developing hard-to-master glazes and a technique for printing photographs directly on pottery. In 1972, he founded, and for the next 30 years was the editor of “Studio Potter” magazine, accepting no paid advertising, which he referred to as “a magazine for potters.” It’s still being
published. He lectured extensively on the “how-to” of pottery making and other subjects, in this country and abroad. He taught at Dartmouth College and elsewhere. Beginning in 1973, he and his wife, Julie, hosted a series of summer workshops at their home, which came to be known as the Phoenix Works h o p s , b r i n g i n g o t h e r w e l lknown potters to New Hampshire to pass on their knowledge. H i s f i rs t s t u d i o was i n a rented milk room in a barn in Concord, N.H. In the late 1950s, he and Julie moved to Dunbarton, N.H., where they had built a home and studio. His earliest pottery was made of red clay he dug himself from clay pits nearby that had been used by Daniel Clark, a Colonial redware potter. After locating and reading Clark’s diary at the New Hampshire Historical Society, Williams looked to Clark as a sort of role model. Nearly every piece of pottery Williams made was signed. The early pieces, from the 1950s and early 1960s, are identified by an impressed hand, sometimes with the letters G on one side and W on the other. The surface decoration is distinctive and was not used later in his career. Williams considered himself to be a utilitarian potter, producing plates, bowls, vases, teapots, cups and saucers, casseroles, etc. meant for everyday use, much as Daniel Clark had done. In the 1970s, his Continued on page 2
Sale Included Part One Of The Textile Collection Of Dr. Virginia Gunn, Plus Quality Additions From Other Ohio Collections
Gerry Williams outside his Dunbarton, N.H., studio in 1999.
This quilt sold for $2,040.
In 1967, Williams made about 200 of these bowls/plates for the gubernatorial campaign of John King. King was governor of New Hampshire from 1963 to 1969.
This is an example of one type of surface decoration Williams used on his earliest work.
Collecting Politics Past And Present
American Political Items Collectors (APIC) To Hold Show And Sale On Nov. 8 And 9 All presidents have something more than the highest office in common. They also have their political memorabilia. From the
time of George Washington to the present day of Biden, Trump, and Harris, these collectible artifacts such as buttons, badges, ribbons,
Mid-Century Glass, Ohio Paintings, And Textiles Highlight Meander Fall Auction
posters, all relics of American history, will be on display and for sale on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8 and 9.
The American Political Items Collectors (APIC) show and sale will be Nov. 8 and 9 in Langhorne, Pa.
The American Political Items Collectors (APIC) show will take place at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel, 400 Oxford Valley Road, Langhorne, Pa. Show hours on Friday will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is $5. The APIC holds the annual show and sale to give collectors and history buffs the opportunity to view, buy, sell and trade. The public is invited to bring in their items for a free appraisal and on-the-spot floor auctions for immediate sale. See centuries old material and items from the present along with local candidate memorabilia. To learn more, call Ed Stahl at 609-462-4817.
While the anticipated textile collection of Dr. Virginia Gunn realized strong prices, it was a collection of five paintings by Ohio Regionalist artist Clyde Singer that led the way, collectively realizing $32,760, blowing past an aggregate pre-sale estimate of $5,500$10,600. After a brief spell studying at the Art Students League in New York, Singer (1908-99) returned to his native Ohio where he spent the remainder of his life, gaining numerous accolades. “Since a major exhibition at the Canton Museum of Art in 2008, his work has received more attention by both museums and collectors,” commented auctioneer and Meander co-owner Andrew Richmond. The Sept. 28 auction also included a small but punchy collection of Blenko Glass. Founded in 1893, Blenko has been making colorful glass in Milton, W. Va., and today, collectors of mid-century design aggressively seek the biggest and splashiest pieces, such as the so-called “Chess Piece” floor decanter, measuring 36 inches Continued on page 8
In This Issue SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . .
starting on page 2
SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . .
on page 4
EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR on page 5 AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . on page 5 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . . . . . on page 6
FEATURED AUCTION: Halloween Day Auction At Embassy Auctions International - Page 4
CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . on page 7