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Sunday, January 1, 2012

Farewell to Eva Zeisel (1906-2011)

Eva Zeisel, one of the world's finest ceramic artists, died Friday in New York City at age 105.

Her innovative designs in the 1940s and 1950s changed the way people viewed tableware...and women designers.  She was instrumental in introducing Americans to a simpler, less formal table. She also was the first female designer to be given an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1946.

This beautiful woman will be missed, but her designs will stay with us as a reminder of her grace and elegance.


Eva Striker Zeisel (1906-2011)
cooperhewitt.org

Zeisel with her Schramberg designs, c. 1930
brooklynrail.org

biddingforgood.com

ceramicartsdaily.com

slschramm.com

vam.ac.uk

11 comments:

  1. I must have been living under a rock for the last 105 years, because sadly, I'm just learning about her today. The shapes she created are amazing, and I can't wait to learn more about her! She was a true creative visionary.

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  2. @Carey Brown Strombotne: I know you'll fall in love with the lady and her designs. Crate and Barrel carries a reissue of her Century tableware that she designed for Hall in 1952, and the price is very reasonable.

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  3. Beautiful, thanks for sharing!

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  4. Beautiful tribute with her cleanest, most graceful designs. Love the photo of her with her Schramberg designs, such a pretty, sensitive demeanor. I now treasure [have] the Town & Country that I saw every day of my childhood, on display, framed in our glass pass-cupboard. Perhaps it is sad that it was only used twice for very special occasions, but it is truly a work of art and it brought an enrichment to our lives just in the mere gazing at it.

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  5. @Pippa: I can't help but believe that these exceptional forms were the outward expression of her inner beauty.

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  6. @seaneen55104: Some things are so beautiful that they truly transcend their original function and become art. I can understand why you feel as you do about your collection of Town & Country. Enjoy it!

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  7. A amazing artist, she even designed furniture.

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  8. @John Bachman: Yes, here's a link to a great photo of her in 1997 with an orange chair of her design in the background.

    http://goo.gl/g3dNv

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  9. I was so sorry to hear of her passing. Last year I inherited my great grandmother's dishes, and discovered they were designed by Eva, and was awed by their sleek forms and by the artist's creativity.

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  10. @Margaret Almon: You are so fortunate to have inherited such a treasure. I know you will enjoy them forever.

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  11. Hi Dana, I have just come across a great blog called Vintage Scapes, her recent post on new finds has her come across the most divine set of Eva's work-divine, had to share with you! :)

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