id: 146430 accession number: 1972.1195 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.1195 updated: 2023-04-26 11:23:55.789000 Perpetual Vine Cup on Stand, 1965. Kenneth F. Bates (American, Cleveland, 1904–1994). Transparent enamel (plique-à-jour); copper; silver; overall: 7.7 x 10 cm (3 1/16 x 3 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Marie Odenkirk Clark 1972.1195 title: Perpetual Vine Cup on Stand title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1965 creation date earliest: 1965 creation date latest: 1965 current location: creditline: Bequest of Marie Odenkirk Clark copyright: --- culture: America, Ohio, Cleveland technique: Transparent enamel (plique-à-jour); copper; silver department: Decorative Art and Design collection: Decorative Arts type: Enamel find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Kenneth F. Bates (American, Cleveland, 1904–1994) - artist Kenneth F. Bates was a long-time member of the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Art, who specialized in enamel work and was nationally recognized for his achievements in the field. Born to Francis and Winnette Litchfield Bates in North Scituate, MA, Kenneth pursued his art education at the Massachussetts School of Art and earned his bachelor's degree there. He came to Cleveland in 1926, and one year later joined the faculty of the Cleveland School of Art (later Cleveland Institute of Art). During his forty-three years at the CIA, he taught advanced courses in enameling and became professor emeritus in 1971. In 1927 Bates submitted his first enamel work to the May Show of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it received first prize. Bates continued to submit entries to the annual May Show for the next 62 years, garnering a long list of prizes. In 1946 he was awarded first prize in the national enameling competition. His works have been displayed in many museums and were featured in one-man shows in Brooklyn and Chicago. In 1987 the National Society of Enamelists honored him with the title "Dean of American Enamelists." Bates authored three books: Enameling: Principles and Practice, 1951; The Enamelist, 1967; and Basic Design, 1970. --- measurements: Overall: 7.7 x 10 cm (3 1/16 x 3 15/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The May Show: 46th Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists and Craftsmen of The Western Reserve opening date: 1964-05-06T04:00:00 The May Show: 46th Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists and Craftsmen of The Western Reserve. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-June 14, 1964). title: The Cleveland Institute of Art: 100 Years opening date: 1982-12-22T05:00:00 The Cleveland Institute of Art: 100 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 22, 1982-January 30, 1983). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: There is no backing to the enamel cloisonné in Perpetual Vine, rendering it both translucent and dangerously fragile. digital description: Kenneth Bates spent a lifetime devoted to the art of enameling. He taught several generations of students at the Cleveland Institute of Art, who subsequently became renowned enamelists, and created a spectacular body of work that won him international accolades. This small, luxurious cup typifies the skill and technical prowess of Bates's talent. Featuring the cloisonné enamel technique known as plique-à-jour, in which the enamel is applied in cells with no backing, the cup seemingly exists with no structure, held aloft only by the tiny silver arms of its stand. The translucent enamel lets the light permeate as a stained glass window would in a church. The effect is ethereal and impressionistic, and in this way, recalls the work of the masters of this art from the early 1900s, René Lalique and Fernand Thesmar. wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Kenneth F. Bates Entry Card to 1964 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. page number: url: https://archive.org/details/CMAMS13262 --- IMAGES