Brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

Thomas Bezanson (August 5, 1929 – August 16, 2007) was a Canadian-born artist and

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk primarily known for his porcelain pottery and mastery of complex glazes. Strongly influenced by Asian pottery, often adapting traditional Chinese and

Japanese pottery , is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptional ...

methods and materials to his work.

Biography

Brother Thomas was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, a descendant of Irish and Scottish families that had been in Nova Scotia for many generations. In 1950 he graduated from

Nova Scotia College of Art and Design NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design or NSCAD, is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The univ ...

. He also spent some time in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

studying at Art Students League of New York. From 1951–58 he both worked in business and was an advisor to the Nova Scotia Handcraft Century. He began working in pottery in 1953. In 1958–59 he traveled and studied in Europe. In 1959 he entered the Benedictine Monastery, Weston Priory, in Weston, VT. In 1968 he graduated from

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

with a master's degree in Philosophy and a University Gold Medal. In 1976 he was a visiting lecturer at Alfred University School of Ceramics. In 1978 he traveled in Japan and to Taipei. While in Japan he met with five "

Living National Treasure (Japan) is a Japanese popular term for those individuals certified as by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as based on Japan's . The term "Living National Treasure" is not formally mentioned in the law, but is an informa ...

" potters. In 1983 he was awarded a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

grant. Since 1985 he has been the Artist-in-Residence, Mount Saint Benedict,

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

. He has had hundreds of exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world. His works are in over 80 museum collections. Brother Thomas is renowned for his original glaze recipes and perfect forms and always sought to create something new and beautiful. His exacting standards made for the shattering of over 80% of each firing. One "rescued" piece, however, is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Brother Thomas died at his home in

, on 16 August 2007. It was Brother Thomas' dream and vision to establish a Fund to help struggling artists, as he was helped in his life's journey. The Brother Thomas Fund was established under the auspices of the Boston Foundation upon the artist's death. Since 2007, proceeds from the sale of his work have gone into this Fund and in October 2009, the first eight Brother Thomas Fellowships were awarded to struggling, mid-career Boston artists in the amount of $15,000 each.

Exhibitions and honors

Grant 1983 * Retrospective Exhibition

Erie Art Museum Erie Art Museum is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Museum holds a collection of more than 8,000 objects, with strengths in American ceramics, Tibetan paintings, Indian bronzes, photography, and comic book art. Focusing on the museum collection ...

, Erie, PA 1990 * Retrospective Exhibition Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 1991

Known collections

* Aidekman Art Center,

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, Medford, MA * Allen Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH * Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA (http://www.artcomplex.org/) * Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL * Bunting Institute, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA *

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

, Hull, Quebec, Canada *

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 ...

, Pittsburgh, PA * Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA *

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

, Cleveland, OH *

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Ins ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, New York, NY * Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA * Dimock Gallery,

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

, Washington, DC * Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY * Fleming Museum,

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

, Burlington, VT *

Fogg Art Museum The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA *

Framingham State University Framingham State University (Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs, including MBA, MEd, and MS. History As the first secretary of the newly ...

, Framingham, MA *

Hokkaido University , or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...

, Hokkaido, Japan *

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 19 ...

, Los Angeles, CA * 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 ...

, New York, NY * Museum of Art,

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

, Providence, RI
note on acquisition
* Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA *

Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of ...

, Phoenix, AZ *

Portland Museum of Art The Portland Museum of Art, or PMA, is the largest and oldest public art institution in the U.S. state of Maine. Founded as the Portland Society of Art in 1882. It is located in the downtown area known as The Arts District in Portland, Maine. ...

Portland, ME *

Pucker Gallery Pucker is a line of fruit-flavored liqueurs made by the DeKuyper company. By volume it is 15% alcohol (30 proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a me ...

, Boston, MA * Roberson Museum and Science Center, Binghamton, NY *

The Rose Art Museum The Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, US. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from the permanent col ...

, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA * Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA * St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York * Smithsonian American Art Museum
Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
* Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel * The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa, Israel *

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

, MA *

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

Collection, Rome, Italy *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, London, England *

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

, Windsor, England *

Worcester Art Museum The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ranks among th ...

, Worcester, MA
note on acquisition
*

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, New Haven, CT

Bibliography

* "Ceramics of Weston Priory/Brother Thomas" by Thomas, Brother, O.S.B.; Henning, Robert, Jr. (Curated By) Publisher:

George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum The Quadrangle is the common name for a cluster of museums and cultural institutions in Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, on Chestnut Street between State and Edwards Streets. The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, in the cent ...

, Springfield, MA. Date Published: 1980 * Exhibition Catalogue. 79 pp., illus. (some col. ); 23 cm. Exhibition held at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, Massachusetts, June 1-September 7, 1980. * "The Path to the Beautiful" Published in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

by David R. Godine Publishers (http://godine.com/) 1988 * Biographical Film: "Gifts From the Fire",

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, 1991
New York Times Movie Review
* "Gifts From the Fire". Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery, 1993 * "Creation out of Clay". Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery, 1999 * "Celebrate the Days: Brother Thomas Book of Days". Pucker Art Publications, 2000 * "This is the Day: Work and Words of Brother Thomas". Pucker Art Publications. Syracuse University Press, 978-0-8028-6312-6, 2007

Quotes

"Art is meant to open the human heart to truth and beauty, goodness and unity. It is like a finger pointing to the moon. It is not the finger that is important, it is the moon." "First you do what is necessary, then you do what is possible and before you know it you are doing the impossible." "The thing we all strive for is to shape our humanity in the image of God, to do good, stand up for what is true, create what is beautiful, and live for what unites and does not divide."

Images

* Pucker Gallery

Brother Thomas ''Small lidded vase with celadon glaze'', ca. 1980
* The Art Museum Image Consortium Library

* Harrison Gallery
An image gallery

References

External links

The Brother Thomas Fellowship Awards

The Brother Thomas Fellowship Award winners
* Ceramics Monthly – December 2006
A Long and Winding Road to Artistic Success by Richard Busch
4.4 MB PDF document

* Boston Phoenix
exhibition review September 2003

Artist information page at The Harrison Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bezanson, Brother Thomas American potters 1929 births 2007 deaths Artists from Erie, Pennsylvania Art Students League of New York alumni Benedictine monks Canadian potters NSCAD University alumni University of Ottawa alumni 20th-century ceramists