Charles Walter Clewell
Americans in the early 20th century liked their art pottery oxidized. Style leaders included Herman Markham who developed remarkable bronze look-alikes and Samuel Weller whose verdigris frogs and fountains were immensely popular. Possibly the entire matte green craze could be linked to this preference for a flat, dead, metallic glaze.
Charles Walter Clewell (1876 to 1965) took the fad a giant step forward by developing a still secret technique for completely covering the exterior of a vase with a metal coating. Clewell was a skilled Canton, Ohio, metal smith, not a potter. He opened a downtown studio in 1906 using bisque blanks from area potteries and by 1909 was advertising pottery with copper, burnished copper and silver finishes. He later experimented with adding color to copper, especially blue, blue-green and orange. These first appeared in 1923 and became what many consider his most popular line. He also developed a line of serving pieces with rivets and seams favored by Arts and Crafts collectors. Perhaps his greatest achievement was in stabilizing the oxidation process when the desired patina was achieved.
Although his one man shop officially closed at his death, most of Clewell’s production ended in 1941. He typically marked his work with ‘Clewell Canton O’ in a circle or ‘Clewell/Canton O’ incised on the bottom of his wares.
Clewell’s rarest pieces are tall, elaborate and detailed works in dark brown with high relief poppies, Egyptian woman and stylized designs.
Biographical note by p4A.com contributing editor Pete Prunkl.