id: 109968 accession number: 1928.571 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1928.571 updated: 2022-01-04 15:07:45.223000 Fan Dancer, 1928. R. Guy Cowan (American, 1884-1957). Glazed ceramic; overall: 30.5 x 15.2 cm (12 x 6 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1928.571 title: Fan Dancer title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1928 creation date earliest: 1928 creation date latest: 1928 current location: creditline: Educational Purchase Fund copyright: --- culture: America, Ohio, Cleveland technique: glazed ceramic department: Decorative Art and Design collection: Decorative Arts type: Ceramic find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * R. Guy Cowan (American, 1884-1957) - designer R. Guy Cowan was born into a family of potters of British origin living in East Liverpool, then the center of Ohio’ s thriving ceramic industry. Around 1900 he moved with his family to Syracuse, New York, where his father was the head decorator for the Onondaga Pottery Company. Shortly there after he was apprenticed at the company. He studied with Charles Binns at the New York State School of Clayworking and Ceramics, 1902–7. Cowan moved to Cleveland to teach ceramics at East Technical High School in 1908 and became acquainted with Horace Potter, who collaborated with him on early projects. In 1913 Cowan abandoned teaching to establish a commercial firm, the Cleveland Pottery and Tile Company, which was later incorporated as the Cowan Pottery Studio. His first significant recognition came when he was awarded a ceramics prize at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Annual Exhibition of Applied Art (1917). He exhibited in the annual May Shows at the Cleveland Museum of Art (1919–32) and began teaching ceramics at the Cleveland School of Art in 1923. Under encouragement from Alexander Blazys, Cowan started producing ceramic sculpture in the mid-1920s, launching the studio’s most fertile creative period. Many artists worked on collaborative projects at Cowan Pottery, including Waylande Gregory, Elmer Novotny, Viktor Schreckengost, Walter Sinz, Frank Wilcox, and Thelma Frazier Winter. After a period of commercial success, the Depression forced the studio into bankruptcy and it closed in 1931. Cowan subsequently worked for the Ferro Enamel Company in Cleveland as a research engineer. In the mid-1930s, he relocated to Syracuse, where he became art director of the Onondaga Pottery.
"Transformations in Cleveland Art" (CMA, 1996), p. 226 --- measurements: Overall: 30.5 x 15.2 cm (12 x 6 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The May Show: 10th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen opening date: 1928-04-25T05:00:00 The May Show: 10th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 25-June 3, 1928). title: Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940 opening date: 1989-06-28T04:00:00 Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 28-September 10, 1989). title: Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age opening date: 2004-03-28T00:00:00 Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 28-July 18, 2004). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 28 - July 18, 2004. "Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age", no exhibition catalogue. --- PROVENANCE Purchased from the 10th Exhibition of Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: A stamp on the bottom of this ceramic sculpture indicates that it was produced at the Cowan Pottery studios. Although unsigned, it was most likely designed by Waylande Gregory, one of the studio’s premiere artists. In 1928 the studio’s founder, R. Guy Cowan, brought Gregory to Cleveland from Chicago, where he was developing a reputation as a talented young sculptor. Cowan Pottery, located in Lakewood (1912–17) and later Rocky River (1919–32), Ohio, began producing ceramic sculpture in the mid-1920s, launching its most fertile creative period. Cowan employed a large team of talented artists at the studio, including Walter Sinz, Thelma Frazier Winter, and Viktor Schreckengost. The studio brought national fame to Cleveland ceramists, but was forced to close due to economic circumstances in 1932. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS R. Guy Cowan Entry Card to 1928 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. page number: url: https://archive.org/details/CMAMS01491/page/n1 --- IMAGES