Vase
Located in Boston’s North End, the Paul Revere Pottery developed out of a philanthropic venture funded by Helen Osborne Storrow, a prominent Boston philanthropist, for young immigrant women of mostly Italian and Eastern European descent. The programming centered on readings from literary classics, classes in music and dancing, and provided a social space, and various groups met at different times; the group of older girls came on Saturday evenings and adopted the name Saturday Evening Girls. A pottery class was introduced in 1906 by Edith Guerrier, who was the first librarian in charge of the clubs. She was joined by Edith Brown, an illustrator of children’s books. The two women were the guiding force behind the development of the pottery made by the Saturday Evening Girls. Brown provided the artistic designs that were then executed by the women. Like Newcomb Pottery and others established at the time, its aim was to provide young women with a modest sum of money through the sale of their wares. While most of the pottery’s output was functional wares, with a specialty in children’s tableware, a small number were far more ambitious in both design and execution.
This outstanding vase is unusual in both design and interpretation—the landscape is rendered more loosely and painterly, almost impressionistically. In a manner reminiscent of the influential artist Arthur Wesley Dow, the trees are set against horizontal bands of white and different shades of blue, which may represent water and sky but which are essentially design elements in the Japanese manner. Dated "June 1915", the vase relates to a number of exceptional vases bearing 1915 dates, denoting a flurry of noteworthy artistic creativity over a very short period, the significance of which remains elusive.
This outstanding vase is unusual in both design and interpretation—the landscape is rendered more loosely and painterly, almost impressionistically. In a manner reminiscent of the influential artist Arthur Wesley Dow, the trees are set against horizontal bands of white and different shades of blue, which may represent water and sky but which are essentially design elements in the Japanese manner. Dated "June 1915", the vase relates to a number of exceptional vases bearing 1915 dates, denoting a flurry of noteworthy artistic creativity over a very short period, the significance of which remains elusive.
Artwork Details
- Title: Vase
- Manufacturer: Paul Revere Pottery (1908–1942)
- Maker: Saturday Evening Girls (1908–42)
- Date: 1915
- Geography: Possibly made in Brighton, Massachusetts, United States; Possibly made in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Culture: American
- Medium: Earthenware
- Dimensions: 13 3/4 x 6 5/8 in. (34.9 x 16.8 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2017
- Object Number: 2017.357.7
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Paul Revere Pottery
Sara Galner
1915
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1908–15
Saturday Evening Girls
Paul Revere Pottery
1919
Grueby Faience Company
1909–10
Wilhelmina Post
Grueby Faience Company
1906
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.