Antonio Prieto

Spanish
(1912–1967)

Bowl
1955

3 x 10.5 x 10.5 in.

Antonio Prieto made the focus of this shallow wide soup bowl a charming peacock line drawing. But instead of being brazen, which peacocks tend to do, this one has their tail feathers drawn together in a clever pose. The drawing is reminiscent of European folk art animal drawings and the wide blue band frames the peacock. Prieto frequently drew whimsical birds on his work. Clearly, he had exceptional brush skills. “There is a difference between good pottery and ceramics,” Antonio Prieto once wrote. “To me, good pottery, besides expressing the character and personality of the creator, expresses the character and potentialities of the materials. I do not think you can separate them and have sound work.”

Prieto immigrated to the United States as a child in 1916. At age 14 he started working in a cigarette factory. He then enrolled in a fine arts school in San Francisco before serving in the Army during WWII. When the war ended, Alfred University (known for their ceramics program) in Alfred, New York accepted him without formal training in ceramics. After studying there from 1943 to 1946, he chaired the Ceramics Program and taught at California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland (now California College of the Arts) from 1946 to 1950. At the time, F. Carlton Ball was teaching ceramics at Mills College. When Ball left Mills, Prieto succeeded him. While teaching at Mills College, Prieto compiled a personal collection of ceramic art, including works by Robert Arneson, Viola Frey, Henry Varnum Poor, Peter Voulkos, and Marguerite Wildenhain. He taught at Mills until his death in 1967.

Billie Sessions, PhD.

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This object has the following keywords:

• bird
• blue

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Ceramic Case 10: Nora Eccles Harrison and Her Influences , 8/21/2012 - 5/7/2014
• Unearthed , 8/23/2022 - 5/14/2023

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