Waylande Gregory for Cowan Pottery Coral Flamingo Centerpiece Planter Set 1929

Waylande Gregory Coral Flamingo Centerpiece and Planter, Cowan Pottery, Ohio, USA, 1928-1931. Marked “COWAN” under flamingo. Waylande Desantis Gregory (1905 Baxter Springs, Kansas – 1971, New Jersey) was one of the most innovative and prolific American art-deco ceramics sculptors of the early 20th century. His groundbreaking techniques enabled him to create monumental ceramic sculpture, such as the Fountain of the Atoms and Light Dispelling Darkness, which had hitherto not been possible. He also developed revolutionary glazing and processing methods, and was a seminal figure in the studio glass movement. The Cowan Pottery Studio was founded by R. Guy Cowan in Lakewood, Ohio, United States in 1912. It moved to Rocky River, Ohio in 1920, and operated until 1931, when the financial stress of the Great Depression resulted in its bankruptcy. Cowan Pottery produced both artistic and commercial work in a variety of styles influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Deco, Chinese ceramics, and modern sculpture. During its two decades of operation, a number of well-known Cleveland School artists worked with Cowan at the studio: Elizabeth Anderson, Arthur Eugene Baggs, Alexander Blazys, Paul Bogatay, Edris Eckhardt, Waylande Gregory, A. Drexler Jacobson, among many others. With the exception of Guy Cowan, himself, Waylande Gregory designed more pieces for the pottery than anyone else. Gregory joined R. Guy Cowan in Rocky River, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, in 1928, where he became the leading sculptor of the Cowan Pottery studio. Unlike his contemporaries at Cowan Pottery, who were primarily influenced by Viennese modern pottery (Wiener Werkstätte), Waylande Gregory was much more influenced by the Cleveland School as well as by leading American bronze sculptor Paul Manship, who had also created one design for Cowan. Gregory sought to create a distinctly American form, as for instance in his second sculpture of Henry Fonda, capturing in essence what he felt were the best American traits. Cowan Pottery works were generally table-top-sized sculptures done in limited editions. Gregory’s work for Cowan is characterized by smooth, linear, flowing forms, such as the elegant flamingo planter set seen here. Due to the onset of the Great Depression, Cowan Studios closed their doors in 1931, bringing this chapter of Waylande Gregory’s career to a close.