Eva Zeisel

Eva Zeisel, (1906-2011)  was one of the great designers of the twentieth century. She is especially known for her sensuous, organic ceramic forms.





Eva Zeisel (1906-2011) is a famous name in 20th Century American industrial design. Born in Hungary, she began designing in the ceramic industry as a teenager, and worked in many factories in Europe and the Soviet Union. In the 1930's (after narrow escapes from both Stalin and Hitler) she emigrated to New York, and established herself as one of the most important designers in the US ceramic industry. Eva retired in the 1960's, but returned to design following a retrospective exhibit in the 1980's. At this time it was my good fortune to meet Eva and work as her modelmaker on a number of major projects. (She carved parts of the International China "Pinnacle" pattern in my Dobbs Ferry studio.)

I encourage you to learn about Eva's fascinating life in any of several books (e.g. " Eva Zeisel, Life, Design and Beauty" by Kirkham, Moore,& Wolframm; "Eva Zeisel, Designer for Industry"; "Eva Zeisel" by Lucie Young; or the New Yorker profile by Suzannah Lessard 4/13/87), or in the recent documentary "Throwing Curves".

It was gratifying to hear that she told a manufacturer  "I only trust my Russian modelmaker and Dan Mehlman

This remarkable woman was designing almost to the end of her life at 104. 


Click images to enlarge.

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I attempt to reconstruct two decades of work with Eva Zeisel


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