Robert Sperry

Ceramicist
American, (1927–1998)

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After beginning his studies at the University of Saskatchewan in 1950, Robert Sperry transferred to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1953. In 1954, Sperry served as the Artist in Residence at the Archie Bray Foundation and became acquainted with Peter Voulkos and Rudy Autio. He would embrace their ideas of an expressionistic approach to clay. Sperry attended the University of Washington for his Master of Fine Arts, which he completed in 1955 and was hired by the university upon graduation. An ardent experimentalist, Sperry, along with Patti Warashina, Howard Kottler, and Fred Bauer transformed the ceramics program at the University of Washington into an influential center for ceramics on the West Coast. Sperry and his colleagues fostered dialogue with the San Francisco Bay Area through bringing the Funk Movement to Seattle.