December 5
Author and historian Bob Batchelor tells the compelling story of this artisanal ceramics company, still operating in the heart of the Ohio River Valley from its founding to present day. In this lecture Bob will share never-before-seen images from the company’s historic archives and tell the rich story of this female-founded, female-owned great American art pottery company.
About Rookwood:
The Rookwood Pottery was probably the most famous company making art pottery in the United States in the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century, achieving an international reputation and consistently promoting artistic innovation. Proud that the pottery was “an artist’s studio, not a factory,” Rookwood Pottery is known for its exceptionally fine glazes and successful experimental designs. By assimilating the strengths of myriad aesthetic movements from the American Art Pottery Movement to Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Rookwood Pottery encouraged decorators to try unusual subjects and to explore new techniques.
The Rookwood Pottery Company is located in the bustling Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio—and it has been for decades. Pioneering artist Maria Longworth-Nichols founded the studio in the Queen City in 1880, building the business and laying the foundation for what Rookwood is today: a world-renowned artisanal ceramics company, operating in the heart of the Ohio River Valley.
About the Speaker:
Bob Batchelor is a critically acclaimed, bestselling cultural historian and biographer. He has published widely on American culture and literature. His latest book is The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius (Diversion). Remus was the most notorious bootleg king of the Roaring Twenties and his spectacular rise and fall is cinematic in scope and excess. The Bourbon King won the 2020 Independent Press Award for Historical Biography.
Purchase tickets to this event at https://gamblehouse.org/upcoming-events/
