Betty Woodman (USA) - 'pillow pitcher'

Betty Woodman (USA - 1930), a important earthenware Pillow Pitcher with a reddish slib decoration. In this pillow pitcher the spout has a relatively long neck. Small irregularity at the skin and a shrinkage crack and some use at the bottom. This piece has been bought by the lady owners of Galerie Het Kapelhuis at Amersfoort (NL) during their visit to the artist

About 

Betty Woodman has studied ceramics at the School for American Craftsmen at Alfred University (Alfred, NY) from 1948-1950. She further developed her passion for clay when she moved to Italy. She began teaching at the University of Colorado in 1979 and was made professor Emeritus in 1998. She is internationally recognized as one of today’s most important sculptors using ceramics. In 2006 an important exhibition “The Art of Betty Woodman” was organized at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The vase has become Woodman’s subject. In deconstructing and reconstructing its form, she has created an exuberant and complex body of sculpture. Its signature is its reflection of a wide range of influence and traditions and an inventive use of color. Many of these traditions Woodman has experienced first-hand as she has traveled extensively. Influence can be found from Greek, Aztec and Tang civilizations, alongside Southern Baroque, American Slipware and 17th century Japanese oribe motifs. 

Pillow Pitcher

The artist developed the Pillow Pitcher since 1975. It is inspired by traditional Etruscan vessels and Chinese porcelain pillows. Not meant for function, this shape has been worked out by Woodman numerous times, both in plain or decorated earthenware. To make the pitcher look like an overstuffed pillow bursting at the seams, the artist made two cylinders, which she attached in the middle and pinched closed at the ends. Woodman individualizes each of her unusual pots by designing different spouts and handles. Pillow Pitchers can be found in many important ceramic collections, such as Museum of Art and Design (MAD), New York; Smithonian American Art Museum; Los Angelos County Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; V&A London and Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL). 

Objectnummer: 
0993
Datering: 
1975 - 1985
Signatuur: 
artist stamp WOODMAN
Afmetingen: 
height 44 cm; width 42,5 cm; depth 30 cm
Conditie: 
mint with some irregularities
Herkomst: 
collection owners Het Kapelhuis, Amersfoort
Land: 
Verenigde Staten
Status: 
Verkocht