NEWCOMB ART MUSEUM
STORAGE TOUR
Welcome to the Newcomb Art Museum’s Onsite Storage!
Please use this handout to guide you through the collection. Each stop is numbered, and will refer to specific shelves on designated cabinets. The cabinets are numbered on the outside in the center by the handles. The shelves are lettered, and are marked on the inside of the cabinets on the right side.
Please observe the following rules while exploring the space: Place all bags, purses and oversized jackets in the cubbies located to the right of the door. Please stay in the designated area. Do not cross the stanchions. Do not attempt to open the cabinets and do not lean on the glass. There is no photography allowed in storage.
There is no food or drink allowed in storage. There is a limit of 10 people in storage at a time. Please take your time enjoying the space, but be respectful of others waiting to come in. Please do not touch any of the artwork.
An Introduction to Newcomb Pottery The Newcomb Art Museum holds the largest collection of Newcomb enterprise works in the public trust. Created here at the former Newcomb College, Newcomb pottery is considered one of the most significant American art potteries of the first half of the twentieth century. Influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement, Newcomb pottery was exhibited around the world, sold in shops on both coasts, and written about in art journals throughout the United States and Europe. During its nearly fifty years of operation, Newcomb Pottery provided employment to roughly ninety Newcomb graduates, and produced some 70,000 distinct pieces of work. Over 600 pieces of Newcomb pottery are stored in this room.
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Stop #1: Early History
Cabinet: Shelf: B In 1884 Tulane University hired William Woodward to start an art program at the school. That same year, the Cotton Exposition world’s fair was taking place across the street in Audubon Park. Inspired by exhibits at the fair, Woodward organized the Tulane Decorative Art League, teaching evening classes in pottery, carving, drawing, painting ,and needlework. From this league, the New Orleans Art Pottery Club was formed. In 1886, through the bequest of Josephine Louise Newcomb, Newcomb College opened as the very first coordinate college for women. William Woodward’s brother Ellsworth took over the art program at Newcomb. Inspired by the arts and crafts movement in England and the pottery factories of Europe, the Woodward brothers founded the Newcomb Pottery enterprise, which began production in 1894.
Look for this small blue pitcher on Shelf B. This is an example of pottery from the Pottery Club. The Pottery Club was overseen by William Woodward, and employed George Ohr and Joseph Meyer as potters.The Pottery Club is considered to be the forerunner of the Newcomb Pottery enterprise. Shelf B show early examples of Newcomb Pottery test pieces. Before Newcomb Pottery had established a style, Joseph Meyer, the primary potter at Newcomb, experimented with different clay bodies, glaze colors and decorating techniques. While Meyer won an award for this metallic red copper glaze, it was not a style Newcomb Pottery developed.
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Stop #2: The Formative Years
Cabinet: Shelves:
B,C
In 1895, a year after the Newcomb Pottery enterprise was founded, the Newcomb potters developed their style. All pieces were thrown and decorated by hand, with no two being alike. Each piece was required to function–as plates, bowls, cups or vases–but the primary purpose of the pottery was to be decorative. The vessels were made from local clays and their subject matter reflected the local landscape. At the time, because it was not considered ladylike to sit at a potter’s wheel, male potters employed at the Pottery threw the vessles, while the women were responsible for choosing the shapes and applying the decoration and glazes. Students in the Newcomb Art Department learned pottery and decoration skills as part of their schooling, and were hired by the Pottery only after they graduated from Newcomb College.
This plate, seen on Shelf F, was decorated by Lynne Watkins while she was a student. This porcelain plate was imported from France, and the decoration was applied with paint. China-painting gave students an opportunity to practice their designs on prefired ceramics. From 1895 to 1902 Newcomb Pottery pieces were primarily decorated with under-painted designs, finished with a clear glossy glaze. Shelves B and C have many examples of this early style. Look for this vase by Emilie de Hoa LeBlanc on Shelf B. Curious about the tools on Shelf D? These were used in bookbinding and metalworking, two other enterprises that took place at Newcomb College! You can see some examples of metalwork in Cabinet 2.
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Stop #3: Arts & Crafts Style
Cabinet: Shelves: B&C The designs of Newcomb pottery were more standardized after 1902. Incising was developed as a design technique, giving the pieces an expressive and graphic quality. As Newcomb pottery was becoming commercially popular and being sold across America, it was also being recognized for its craftsmanship. The Pottery won awards at several world expositions, including the bronze medal at the Exposition Universalle in Paris and three gold medals at the Jamestown Tercentennial in Virginia. Look for this award medal in Cabinet 3 from the 1900 Exposition Universelle Internationalle!
This vase on Shelf B is a prime example of works being made at Newcomb between 1902 and 1910. This Vase with Day Lily Design was made by Leona Nicholson in 1904. It has deep incised lines, with its floral design in a repeating pattern confined within a banded frame.
On the bottom of each piece of Newcomb pottery are several marks that identify the artists and the year it was made.
Stop #4: Matte Glaze
Cabinet:
1
In 1910, Newcomb chemist Paul Cox invented a matte glaze that Newcomb Pottery quickly adapted into their designs. This glaze was soft and romantic and proved to be as prize winning as the previous design style. Developing the new style further, the Pottery began sculpting designs into the clay, rather than incising or underpainting the works. These sculpted works reflect a shift toward more representative imagery and a shift away from the more graphic designs of the previous decade. The matte glaze was popular, and its popularity made sales increase. The increase of sales, however, put pressure on the Pottery and the artists to produce more, and experiment less. As the Newcomb wares became more standardized, the Pottery won fewer awards, and fewer students were inclined to join.
Sadie Irvine is credited with creating the oak, moss, moon motif seen in many of the matte pieces. See this 1933 piece by Irvine, and others like it, on Shelf D. Newcomb Pottery experimented with some ArtDeco styles from 1924-1929, like this 1924 Vase with Schooner Design by Sadie Irvine on Shelf E. Unfortunately, the designs were not well received. The Pottery survived the Great Depression, but by 1935 most of its original faculty and founders had retired or died. The new leadership at Newcomb decided to shift focus away from production and towards focusing strictly on education. They closed the Newcomb Pottery enterprise in 1939.
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Stop #5: The Newcomb Guild
Cabinet: Shelves: C,D,E After Newcomb Pottery closed in 1939, the Newcomb Art Department started a new pottery enterprise, which they called the Newcomb Guild. Guild works, like Newcomb Pottery pieces, were to be built by hand and were to be inspired by the local landscape, but they were radically different from the Pottery’s ceramics in many ways. Guild ceramics emphasized function over decoration, and they were created in product lines where all pieces in a set looked similar. The Guild also stopped hiring graduates and employed a few members of the Art Department faculty, but creating a career path for women was no longer central to its mission.
Newcomb Guild ceramics were modern and abstract. While not overtly a representation of the local landscape, this green vase is an abstracted interpretation of the lichen and moss that grows in New Orleans. See this Lichen Ware vase, and others in the same design, on Shelf C. These blue vessels, seen on Shelf E, are from the Rain Ware line. The soft blue glaze is reminiscent of water, with the ribbed design a reference to raindrops making ripples on the water. While the shapes are all different, their decorations are nearly identical.
The Newcomb Guild Continued
Guild pieces were not signed by their artists, and were instead, simply stamped with the Newcomb Cypher or sometimes labeled with a sticker that identifies their product title. The sticker on this vase, seen on Shelf D, identifies it as Cumulus Ware, a style that is representative of clouds. The Newcomb Guild, while arguably ahead of its time in applying modern design principles to its ceramic’s enterprise, was not financially a success. Newcomb College, which had shifted its focus to education, was not interested in marketing wares for sale and thus sold little. The Guild never officially closed, but stopped production in 1952 when its principle designer, Sadie Irvine, retired.
Peak (but do not walk!) around the corner to see examples of a table runner and wall hanging from the Embroidery enterprise.
Stop #6: Painting Screens
The Newcomb Art Department industrialized other enterprises as well. Besides the Pottery, there was also an Embroidery enterprise, a Metalworking enterprise, a Bookbinding enterprise and a Printmaking enterprise. Enterprise works were created for sale, which differentiates it from the artwork made by students at Newcomb as part of their education.
Stop #7: Newcomb Around Campus
Woodward Way Exiting storage, visit the glass-covered display cases in Woodward Way to see further examples of Newcomb pottery. This small exhibit looks at different decorating techniques, and traces the development of various Newcomb styles.
EMPIRE exhibition Continue inside the museum and look for Newcomb examples in the EMPIRE exhibition. The Empire Room contains several examples of pottery, as well as an original kick-wheel that used to throw the ceramic vessels.
Newcomb jewelry pieces that were made by the Metalsmithing enterprise are also on display in the Empire Room. EMPIRE also includes a hand carved wooden display case that was used by Newcomb Pottery to display their pieces at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. The Buffalo case, which consists of five different woods and was built by the Newcomb groundskeeper, showcased 39 ceramic examples, for which Newcomb won the silver medal. Look for the case in the Men’s Room.
Goldring-Woldenberg Hall The Newcomb Art Museum has several Newcomb pottery pieces on display in the Business School’s newly renovated Goldring-Woldernberg Hall.
Thank you so much for visiting our onsite storage collection today! If you want to learn more about Newcomb Pottery, we recommend stopping by the Newcomb gift shop and picking up a copy of “The Arts & Crafts of Newcomb Pottery.”
Tulane University 6823 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70118 NewcombArtMuseum.Tulane.edu 504.865.5328