Peter Anderson (1901–1984) was an American ceramist and founder of
Shearwater Pottery
Shearwater Pottery is a small family-owned pottery in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, United States founded in 1928 by Peter Anderson (1901-1984), with the support of his parents, George Walter Anderson and Annette McConnell Anderson. From the 192 ...
in
Ocean Springs
Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi and west of Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 U.S. Census. ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. He was born in
to George Walter Anderson, a grain broker, and Annette McConnell Anderson, member of a prominent
family, who had studied art at
Newcomb College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. ...
, where he had absorbed the ideals of the American Arts and Crafts movement.
Career
in 1928 anderson opened his business: Shearwater Pottery. The business turned, jiggered and cast pottery pieces which were then glazed. By 1931 the Shearwater pottery achieved national recognition in Ney York's Contemporary American Ceramics Exhibition. His pieces were also displayed at several museums including The
Virginia Museum of fine Arts
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...
and the
Old Capitol Museum
The Old Mississippi State Capitol, also known as Old Capitol Museum or Old State Capitol, served as the Mississippi statehouse from 1839 until 1903. The old state capitol was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. In 1986, th ...
in Jackson.
Legacy
The Walter Anderson Museum of Art (WAMA) in Ocean Springs, Mississippi has been hosting an annual Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival for 43 years.
In 2021 the 2 day event hosted 150,000 visitors.
References
1901 births
1984 deaths
American potters
People from Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Manlius Pebble Hill School alumni
Public Works of Art Project artists
20th-century ceramists
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