Gertrud Amon Natzler (7 July 1908 – 3 June 1971) was an Austrian-American ceramicist, who together with her husband

Otto Natzler Otto Natzler (January 31, 1908 – April 7, 2007) was an Austrian–born ceramicist. With his wife Gertrud Natzler, he produced what were considered some of the most admired ceramic pieces of the 20th century. Personal life The son of Dr. Si ...

created some of the most praised

ceramics art Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and porc ...

of the 20th century, helping to elevate ceramics to the status of a

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

Early life

Gertrud Amon was born on 7 July 1908 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, to a Jewish family. She was the daughter of Adolf Amon, who ran a stationery company, and Helene ''née'' Grünwald. She had one older brother, Hans. After graduating from the Handelsakademie, Vienna's commercial school, she studied painting and drawing as well as working as a secretary. In 1933 met Otto Natzler, who had been laid off from a job as a textile designer, although their romance did not blossom until after he divorced his first wife in 1934.

Career

Gertrud started to have an interest in pottery, and got Otto interested as well. After teaching themselves and studying at the ceramics studio of Franz Iskra, they opened their own studio and worked full-time as ceramicists. Otto and Gertrud soon became recognised for their art. Their first exhibition was in 1937, at the Galerie Würthle. On 11 March 1938, they learned that their works exhibited at the ''

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Mus ...

'' had been awarded a silver medal. Later the same day, German troops marched into Austria, precipitating the

annexation of Austria The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. They immediately began preparing to leave for the United States, with the help of Otto's cousin in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. They married in June, and left Austria for Los Angeles in September. The Natzlers started a new studio in Los Angeles, where she remained for the rest of her life. At first, they used a wheel and kiln brought from Vienna, and they made a living by offering individual instruction at their studio as well as selling their work. Recognition of the Natzlers' work in the United States began in 1939, when they won first prize at the Ceramic National. Their first full exhibition was in San Diego the following year, and it was followed by many more over the three decades thereafter. Between 1956 and 1960, the Natzlers were summer

artists-in-residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

at the Brandeis Institute. For the most part, Gertrud worked as a potter and Otto as a glazer. Gertrud was remarkable from their Vienna days for throwing thin-walled vessels. From her early days in California, she was recognised for her skill at creating forms of "delicacy" by potters such as Harrison McIntosh. ''New York Times'' critic Lisa Hammel remarked in 1986 that her work was "always in equilibrium…Even the most violent glazes are held in a state of restraint by Gertrud's thin, gently curving shapes". Over her career, she threw more than 25,000 vessels.

Later life and legacy

Gertrud Natzler died of cancer on 3 June 1971, leaving behind hundreds of unfinished pieces. Otto abandoned his work for over a year after her death, but as soon as he was able to, he began the process of firing and glazing them. These pieces continued to garner new and retrospective exhibitions. Among the prominent museums to hold retrospectives of the Natzlers' work were the

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(1973), the

Craft and Folk Art Museum Craft Contemporary, formerly the Craft and Folk Art Museum, is a non-profit, non-collecting arts museum dedicated to showcasing contemporary craft in Los Angeles, California. The museum is located on Los Angeles' Museum Row on Wilshire Boulevard, ...

in Los Angeles (1977), and the

American Craft Museum The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

in New York (1993). In 1994, two exhibitions of her work were held in Vienna, one at the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna, and one at the

Jewish Museum Vienna The Jüdisches Museum Wien, trading as ''Jüdisches Museum der Stadt Wien GmbH'' or the Jewish Museum Vienna, is a museum of Jewish history, life and religion in Austria. The museum is present on two locations, in the Palais Eskeles in the Dorot ...

. Their work is also held in the permanent collections of the

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art. In 2007, ''Time'' magaz ...

, the

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...

, the

University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan with is one of the largest university art museums in the United States. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall ori ...

, the Cooper Hewitt, and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

. In 2001, Gertrud was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship of the

American Craft Council The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national non-profit organization that champions craft based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb, the council hosts national craft shows and conferences, publishes a quarterly mag ...

together with her husband. Otto also eventually started a career as a solo artist, that lasted nearly until his death in 2007. The Natzler's pieces ''Vase, 1965'' and ''Bowl, 1968'' were acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the

's 50th Anniversary Campaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natzler, Gertrud 1908 births 1971 deaths Artists from Vienna American ceramists American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Jewish American artists Austrian ceramists Austrian Jews Deaths from cancer in the United States Austrian women ceramists American women ceramists 20th-century American women artists 20th-century ceramists 20th-century American Jews