Whale

Whale

Carl WaltersWW-1927-016278
1927·Glazed earthenware·19.7 × 42.6 × 19.7 cm (7 3/4 × 16 3/4 × 7 3/4 in.)

<p>Carl Walter’s <em>Whale</em> was inspired by the artist’s interest in the arresting blue color of many Egyptian ceramics. The artist recalled, “I just couldn’t get that blue out of my head. I dreamed about it, talked about it, and finally I set out to discover how I could reproduce it.” After years of research and experimentation, Walters landed on a formula and firing technique that satisfied him, using it to create a wild menagerie of animals including this lively whale. Here, Walters used the vibrant glaze as the background to dense aquatic surface decoration, a reference to the leviathan’s oceanic home.</p>

Catalogue

Year
1927
Dimensions
19.7 × 42.6 × 19.7 cm (7 3/4 × 16 3/4 × 7 3/4 in.)

Artist

Carl Walters
Carl Walters

Carl Walters was an American ceramicist and sculptor whose glazed earthenware vessels and figurative forms bridged craft and fine art traditions. Active from the early twentieth century through the 1950s, he developed a distinctive approach to ceramic surface and form that emphasized bold color and expressive modeling.

Fort Madison, IA, USA

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Plate

Plate

1937 · Glazed ceramic

WW-1937-M000925

Record

Verified by WattsOS
Year
1927
Dimensions
19.7 × 42.6 × 19.7 cm (7 3/4 × 16 3/4 × 7 3/4 in.)
Watts ID
WW-1927-016278

Source

Source
aic
Status
verified

Artist

Carl Walters

Carl Walters

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