John Bennett (1840-1907) was a British ceramic artist who spent much of his career in America. He is known for decorative glazed earthenware with natural motifs.

Career

Bennett came from

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. T ...

, Staffordshire. In the 1870s, he was the director of the "Lambeth faience", that is, "art"

stoneware Stoneware is a rather broad term for pottery or other ceramics fired at a relatively high temperature. A modern technical definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refracto ...

, department at Doulton & Co. in London. Around 1876, he immigrated to America and started his own ceramic business in New York City. His work soon became sought-after for its high quality and painterly style. He closed the New York business in 1882 and retired to a farm in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

, in part to spend more time with his family. Pottery that he made at the farm is stamped "W. Orange - N.J.". He also turned to painting and sketching and gave private art classes. Bennett's pieces of glazed earthenware include vases and plates, often decorated with highly colored, asymmetrical designs of flowers and other motifs from nature. His style is influenced by oriental pottery, the

Aesthetic Movement Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be prod ...

, and the Arts and Crafts movement. His work is in the collection of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, the

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art, is an art museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was at what is now the Main Branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsbur ...

, the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

, and numerous other museums and art institutions.

Personal life

He married Mary Hall (1846–1928). He is buried in Rosedale Cemetery in West Orange with his wife and daughters Sarah and Mary.

References

External links

''Bennett & the Arts and Crafts Movement''
— a blog about John Bennett {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, John 1840 births 1907 deaths British potters American potters English ceramicists American ceramists