GREGORY, WAYLANDE: Prolific ART DECO Ceramics (c) By Polly Guerin 

Gregory's EARTH ton-size monumental

Waylande Desantis Gregory may not be a household name but Gregory’s legacy reminds us that he was one of the most innovative and prolific leading figures in twentieth-century American ceramics and helped to shape Art Deco design in the United States. His groundbreaking techniques enabled him to create monumental ceramic sculpture such as FIRE; a ton size glazed ceramic part of a twelve piece fountain Gregory executed for the 1939 New York World’s Fair in monumental proportions. He was a remarkable visionary and by the 1930s the artist’s career mirrored the changing focus of American ceramics.                                                

PRIME MEDIUM; CERAMICS   became Gregory’s primary medium and from 1928 to 1932, he was the chief design and lead sculptor at Cowan Pottery in Rocky River, Ohio.  Gregory created some of the Pottery’s finest works including three limited edition sculptures relating to dance: Salome, Nautch Dancer and Burlesque Dancer. The last two works were based on the dancing of Gilda Grey, a well-known entertainer from Ziegfeld Follies who inspired these sculptures.  In 1931, Gregory became artist-in-residence of ceramics at Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Although he worked at Cranbrook for only eighteen months, Gregory produced many of his finest works there including Kansas Madonna and Girl withOlive.                                                                                                     

PORCELAIN FIGURES Gregory’s oeuvre included small porcelain figurines, candle sticks, plates and numerous decorative ware. Unlike his large sculptures, Gregory’s porcelains were molded with lush glazes. His is speckled porcelain, Cranbrook deer of 1932 relates to his earlier Art Deco style dear sculptures produced at Cowan.  Gregory’s creativity was prolific and everyday events, even sports served to inspire the artist. When he lived in Metuchen, New Jersey he was inspired by the polo games at Schley field in nearby Far Hills, New Jersey and one of his most popular figures and one of the most ultra Art Deco themes resulted in the, “Polo Player,” which  was translated into motifs for table ware and other household items as well. Zebras, another popular Art Deco theme, also invaded the subject matter in his world but the smaller porcelain sculptures were his greatest contribution to Art Deco genre. The capstone of his success; most of the leading department stores in American carried his porcelains.                                                                                                         

WORLD’S FAIR COMMISSION Commissions  poured in and one of his finest hours was the commission for the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair to produce “The Fountain of the Atom.” It was comprised of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water, surrounded by eight electrons, four male and four female. He described the electrons as “elemental little savages of boundless electric energy, dancing to the rhythm of sculptured bolts of lightning-like fashion in brilliant colored glazes, their buoyant shaped bodies of richly modeled terracotta clays in warm colors.”

PROMISING FUTURE  As early as fourteen, Gregory showed promise when he made a bust of the school principal in only six sittings, as well as a ceramic statue called “The Spirit of Athletics,” After high school her moved to Kansas City to attend the Art Institute and immediately began to receive commissions for sculptural decoration of municipal buildings and parks. He attracted the attention of Lorado Taft, a sculptor who already had a reputation as a mentor to other American sculptors. Taft invited Gregory to be his assistant and to join him at the Art Institute of Chicago. The experience with Lorado Taft led Gregory to begin thinking of ceramic sculpture on a monumental scale. Rejecting Taft’s academic style he eventually branched out on his own.

WAYLANDE DESANTIS GREGORY (1905 Baxter Springs, Kanas—1971, New Jersey) A REMARKABLE VISIONARY!!!  HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND PROLIFIC ART DECO SCULPTORS OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY WHO ALSO DEVELOPED GLAZING AND PROCESSING METHODS AND WAS A SEMINAL FIGURE IN THE STUDIO GLASS MOVEMENT.