Charger

Edwin Scheier, Mary Scheier, Charger, 1950, earthenware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Helen Williams Drutt English and H. Peter Stern in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, 2007.47.25
Copied Mary Scheier, Edwin Scheier, Charger, 1950, earthenware, 313 in. (7.633.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Helen Williams Drutt English and H. Peter Stern in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, 2007.47.25

Artwork Details

Title
Charger
Date
1950
Dimensions
313 in. (7.633.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Helen Williams Drutt English and H. Peter Stern in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery
Mediums Description
earthenware
Classifications
Object Number
2007.47.25

Artwork Description

Edwin and Mary Scheier collaborated on most of their pieces, with Mary creating the forms and Edwin glazing and decorating them. Edwin rarely made preliminary drawings for his decorations. As a result, his designs are imaginative and impulsive, showing the influence of late surrealism and abstract expressionism. In the 1950s, when the Scheiers made this work, both Edwin and Mary had taken an interest in the forms and decorative motifs of Pre-Columbian pottery. The face inside Charger shows the influence of this art, but the addition of a fish suggests, instead, the unexpected juxtapositions of surrealism. The raised sides act as walls, enclosing this imaginary creature in the clay world constructed for him by the Scheiers.