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Viennese couple Gertrud and Otto Natzler fled their Nazi-occupied homeland in 1938, arriving in Los Angeles with a potter’s wheel and kiln in tow. The magisterial work that they produced together, Gertrude throwing delicate forms and Otto experimenting with glazes, has had long-lasting influence on American ceramic practice. Otto’s volcanic glazes, seen on this pock-marked piece, caused a sensation when first exhibited in Los Angeles. “What a fire does really is more or less up to nature and to God, and all you can do is pray that you get some of the things you intend to get,” Otto Natzler said of the unpredictable nature of ceramic art. “Sometimes you get even surprises that surpass your expectations.”
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Large bottle (no. K884)
Gertrud Amon Natzler (American (born in Austria), 1908–1971)
Otto Natzler (American (born in Austria), 1908–2007)
Otto Natzler (American (born in Austria), 1908–2007)
1960
Medium/Technique
Wheel-thrown earthenware with volcanic glaze
Dimensions
Overall: 42 x 28 cm (16 9/16 x 11 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Philip Aarons and Shelley Fox Aarons in honor of Jules and Jeanette Aarons
Accession Number2012.1133
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas
ClassificationsCeramics
Viennese couple Gertrud and Otto Natzler fled their Nazi-occupied homeland in 1938, arriving in Los Angeles with a potter’s wheel and kiln in tow. The magisterial work that they produced together, Gertrude throwing delicate forms and Otto experimenting with glazes, has had long-lasting influence on American ceramic practice. Otto’s volcanic glazes, seen on this pock-marked piece, caused a sensation when first exhibited in Los Angeles. “What a fire does really is more or less up to nature and to God, and all you can do is pray that you get some of the things you intend to get,” Otto Natzler said of the unpredictable nature of ceramic art. “Sometimes you get even surprises that surpass your expectations.”
DescriptionLarge bottle with flared neck with blue-gray volcanic glaze over black. Signed "Natzler" on base and retains original paper label "K884".
Signed
Signed "Natzler"; retains original paper label typed "K884"; another paper label reads "HIRSCH"
ProvenanceMay 8, 1998, sold by Gansevoort Gallery, New York (Mark McDonald), to Philip E. Aarons, New York; 2012, year-end gift of Aarons to the MFA. (Accession date: Februrary 27, 2013)