The Mint Museum has pieces of its collection spread across two buildings; Mint Museum Uptown and Mint Museum Randolph. These collections can be seen on view alongside our special exhibitions.
The Mint Museum is working diligently to ensure that all objects from our collection are represented on our website, at this time only a portion are available for view.
earthenware glaze
Not currently on view
Gift of the American Ceramic Society
R. Guy Cowan (1884–1957) began his ceramic training at fourteen years old as an apprentice at Onondoga Pottery Company of Syracuse, New York. In 1902, after graduating from high school, he entered the newly founded New York School of Clay-Working and Ceramics, at Alfred University, where he studied under the renowned ceramic educator, Charles Fergus Binns. Cowan founded the Cowan Pottery Studio in Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1912, and relocated it 3 1/2 miles west to a much larger facility in Rocky River, Ohio, in 1920. Over the next ten years, the factory developed a diverse commercial line of pottery that was sold by such prominent retailers as Marshall Field in Chicago and Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia. Cowan was forced to close his operation in 1931, because of financial hardships brought on by the Great Depression, but for a time his was one of the nation’s leading potteries. While managing his factory, Cowan regularly taught ceramics at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Accession Number: 2006.102.183
Measurements:
Copyright Information:
Public Domain
In order to access a high-resolution image, please submit a request via the Mint’s Reproduction Request Form. Fees may apply.
All records for works of art published on mintmuseum.org have been reviewed by curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our collections database comprises information gathered over the museum’s history; consequently, some records may be missing information, include offensive or discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas and analyses. The Mint is committed to addressing these issues and revising our records so as to maintain the highest possible degree of accuracy in accordance with scholarly standards.
If you would like to suggest improvements to a record, please submit your feedback here.
The Museum assumes no responsibility for infraction of copyright laws, invasion of privacy or improper and /or illegal use that may arise from reproduction of this image. The user assumes full responsibility for the use of images obtained from the Museum, to obtain permission from copyright holders where applicable and to hold harmless the Museum and its agents against any and all damages and claims arising or resulting from the use of the images.