Newcomb pottery

Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, Newcomb Pottery, created in New Orleans, was one of the most famous lines of pottery in the early 20th century and remains highly collectible. The Arts and Crafts Movement began in Britain in the nineteenth century and sought to revive the production of hand-made decorative objects. The movement quickly spread to the United States, where it thrived well into the twentieth century. Many American pottery centers were established at the time. Newcomb was unusual, however, because it was connected to the educational program of a college, Newcomb College at Tulane University. Over a forty-five-year period the Newcomb studio produced approximately seventy-thousand pieces designed by ninety women artists. Deeply carved designs were particularly characteristic of Newcomb wares produced between 1903 and 1907. Newcomb Pottery production ceased in 1940 due to changing tastes of the American public. It has been reported that shortly after the end of production, during renovation of the Art Department, pottery was thrown from the upper story windows to make room for workers. The Pottery building on Camp Street, where Newcomb Pottery was made, remains standing (2004) and is a registered historic landmark. Large collections of the pottery are in the Newcomb Art Department, the Louisiana State Museum, the Fine Arts Museum at Louisiana State University, and the Historic New Orleans Collection. Newcomb pottery has been featured on traveling exhibits including "The Arts and Crafts Movement in the South", held in 1996 at the High Museum in Atlanta and the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Source: The Columbus Museum, Columbus Georgia; http://www.tulane.edu/~wc/pottery/today.html