Rookwood and the Industry of Art

Rookwood Pottery of Cincinnatithe largest, longest-lasting, and arguably most important American Art Potteryreflected the countrys cultural and commercial milieux in the production, marketing, and consumption of its own products. Rookwood and the Industry of Art is a critical appreciation of Rookwoods rise to its commercial pinnacle, assessing the labor practices and production of ceramic ware as a way to explore anxiety about womens roles outside the home as well as about industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. In this illustrated study, Nancy Owen analyzes the discrepancies between the concepts of fine art and culture and the managerial positioning of the firm as an artists studio, not a factory. Owen also looks at the meaning of Americanness as portrayed in the choices of decoration and in the marketing campaigns that sought to elevate the ceramic ware to an artform. For the collector as well as the cultural historian, Rookwood and the Industry of Art is a revealing and sensitive treatment of this uniquely American commercial and artistic phenomenon.