Art Institute of Chicago

Pitcher

Designed by Edward Kemeys (American, 1843–1907)

Date

c. 1890

Medium

Earthenware and glaze

Culture

Chicago

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In addition to both small- and large-scale bronze sculptures—most notably, the lions flanking the Art Institute’s Michigan Avenue entrance—Edward Kemeys created utilitarian vessels such as this ceramic pitcher. Produced by the potter Joseph Green and sold at Burley and Company in Chicago, the pitcher features four heads of Native Americans similar to those Kemeys sculpted for the lobby of Chicago’s Marquette Building. While the artist employed a geometric decoration reminiscent of Native American basketry, the pitcher’s form is not based on an actual vessel.

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