#eva zeisel

Zeisel's 1945 Town and Country salt-and-pepper shakers were inspired by a mother cuddling her child. Image via the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Some additional designs from Zeisel's "family" of objects include the Town and Country creamer from 1945 and a baby oil pourer in the shape of a rabbit from 1940. Image via the Brooklyn Museum

"I have rarely designed objects that were meant to stand alone," Zeisel wrote. "My designs have family relationships. They are either mother and child, siblings, or cousins. They might not have identical lines, but there is always a family relationship." 

Certainly it would be hard to think of Zeisel's career without recalling an image of her popular Town and Country salt-and-pepper shakers snuggling together on the dinner table.

Crossing Borders: Eva Zeisel

Born and educated in Hungary, Eva Zeisel had previously designed ceramics in Europe, including the USSR, where she was imprisoned for 18 months following a Stalinist purge. Deported to Vienna in 1937, she narrowly escaped arrest by invading Nazi forces before fleeing to New York. This ceramic service, commissioned by MoMA and Castleton China, was the focus of MoMA’s first one-woman exhibition, in 1946, kick-starting Zeisel’s career as an American industrial designer. Learn about Zeisel and other immigrant artists: mo.ma/crossingborders.

Our digital exhibition “Crossing Borders,” presented as part of our #CitizensBorders initiative, showcases works from MoMA’s collection by artists who immigrated to the U.S., often as refugees in search of safe haven. Explore all the works at mo.ma/crossingborders

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