New Acquisition Alert: Artus Van Briggle: Despondency

Executed in 1902, this newly acquired vase was created by Artus Van Briggle three years after his move to Colorado Springs where he started the Van Briggle Pottery.

With its ombre green to blue matte glaze this vase stands out amongst other Van Briggle works. Despondency, a state of low spirits caused by loss of hope is an appropriate title for this piece. The figure’s defined masculine musculature curled around the rim, head downturned with hand to head in a sorrowful gesture, reminiscent of August Rodin’s brooding sculptures, gives a sense of languid hopelessness. Despite the subject, the figure is beautifully executed with precision and the glazing perfection as the vibrant turns to brilliant blue as it moves down the body of the vase.

Artus Van Briggle, an Ohio native, worked for Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati Ohio in the late nineteenth century, during which time he also traveled to Europe to study, returning to the US in 1896. By 1900, he was settled in his new home in Colorado Springs, Colorado producing for the self-named Van Briggle Pottery and making a name for himself in the world of artistic pottery. In 1903 Van Briggle submitted 24 pieces to the Paris Salon, all of which were accepted, and brought home two gold, one silver, and twelve bronze metals. 1904 brought more accolades at the Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exposition in St. Louis, where his pottery won two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. Van Briggle succumbed to his battle with tuberculosis in July of 1904 in St. Louis, and while Van Briggle Pottery continued after his death, their wares lacked the artistry produced while Van Briggle was alive.

See Despondency and other works by Artus Van Briggle in the pottery gallery on MAACM’s fourth floor.