American Potters: Mary and Edwin Scheier Komanecky, Michael K.

In 1988 The Currier Gallery of Art received what is perhaps the most significant gift in its sixty-four year history, the donation of a home designed in 1950 by Frank Lloyd Writer for Isadore and Lucille Zimmerman. The Zimmermans had a particular passion for the pottery of Mary and Edwin Scheier, who at the time the Zimmermans moved into their home in 1952 were nationally renowned potters with works in many major American Art museums. Over a period fo the next twenty years, the Zimmermans purchased some seventy-five pieces of Scheier pottery, forming the largest and most comprehensive private or public collection of the Scheirer’ work. The nationwide celebration of American craft in 1993 presented itself as the natural opportunity to pay tribute to these talented artists. The goal for this exhibition, and more so the book that accompanies it, is easy to articulate: to explore the work of these two American potters in context, the context of American pottery produced at mid-century; the context of American, European, and primitive art as it influenced the appearance of the Scheiers’, and particularly Ed’s work; and finally, the broader context of the rich life experiences of these two remarkable people.