Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Leza Marie McVey (née Sullivan) (1907–1984) was an innovative American ceramist and weaver. McVey studied at the

Cleveland Institute of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at firs ...

(1927–1932) and at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center (1943–1944). In 1932, she married the sculptor William Mozart McVey, and from 1935 to 1947, she worked as a ceramist in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. William accepted a teaching position at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in 1947, and there she met the Finnish artist

Maija Grotell Maija (Majlis) Grotell (August 19, 1899 — December 6, 1973) was an influential Finnish-American ceramic artist and educator. She is often described as the "Mother of American Ceramics." Early life and education Finland Maija Grotell was born ...

and became friends with the Japanese-American artist

Toshiko Takaezu Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011) was an American ceramic artist, painter, sculptor, and educator who was known for her rounded, closed forms that viewed ceramics as a fine art and more than a functional vessel. She is of Japan ...

who studied at the Cranbrook Academy from 1951 to 1954. In 1953, McVey returned to her native city of Cleveland and established her studio in the suburb of Pepper Pike, Ohio. McVey's large-scaled, biomorphic, asymmetrical work is said to reflect her dissatisfaction with wheel-thrown pieces and to have led the way for modern ceramic art in the United States. Influenced by surrealism, her sculptural stoneware and porcelain works embody the natural, organic form. In 1965, the Cleveland Institute of Art presented a major retrospective of her work that included seventy-five large scale sculptures or what she called "ceramic forms." By 1979 McVey's production slowed due to her failing eyesight.

Collections containing work

McVey's work may be found in several private, corporate, and public collections: *

Butler Institute of American Art The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum h ...

, Youngstown, Ohio * General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Michigan * Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McVey, Leza 1907 births 1984 deaths American potters Cleveland School (arts community) American women ceramists American ceramists 20th-century American women artists Artists from Cleveland 20th-century American artists Women potters 20th-century ceramists

Collections containing work

Related reading

References