#johnbennett

Vase by John Bennett, American Decorative Arts

Medium: Red earthenware

Gift of Emma and Jay Lewis, 2011 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Plaque by John Bennett, American Decorative Arts

Medium: Painted and glazed earthenware

Friends of the American Wing Fund, 1983 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Vase by John Bennett, American Decorative Arts

Medium: Earthenware

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. I. Wistar Morris III, 1984 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Plaque, John Bennett, 1879, Art Institute of Chicago: American Art

Working at the London firm Doulton and Company, English ceramist John Bennett evolved a new method in which he painted his designs in slip, or liquid clay, and covered them with clear glaze. In 1876 “Bennett ware” was exhibited to great acclaim at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, prompting Bennett to relocate to New York. Although his early pottery demonstrates Islamic influences, this plaque is more indebted to contemporary British Aesthetic movement design. Flowers in muted colors extend into the composition from beyond the pictorial space, yielding a design that resembles the intricate textiles of English artist William Morris. Through prior acquisitions of the George F. Harding Collection, an anonymous donor, Bessie Bennett, Mrs. William Blood, Emily Crane Chadbourne, Milton Straus, Elizabeth R. Vaughan, Behrend/Sanford Auction and Thorne Rooms Exhibition funds Size: 46.7 cm (18 3/8 in.) Medium: Earthenware

Plaque, John Bennett, 1879, Art Institute of Chicago: American Art

Working at the London firm Doulton and Company, English ceramist John Bennett evolved a new method in which he painted his designs in slip, or liquid clay, and covered them with clear glaze. In 1876 “Bennett ware” was exhibited to great acclaim at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, prompting Bennett to relocate to New York. Although his early pottery demonstrates Islamic influences, this plaque is more indebted to contemporary British Aesthetic movement design. Flowers in muted colors extend into the composition from beyond the pictorial space, yielding a design that resembles the intricate textiles of English artist William Morris. Through prior acquisitions of the George F. Harding Collection, an anonymous donor, Bessie Bennett, Mrs. William Blood, Emily Crane Chadbourne, Milton Straus, Elizabeth R. Vaughan, Behrend/Sanford Auction and Thorne Rooms Exhibition funds Size: 46.7 cm (18 3/8 in.) Medium: Earthenware