A wonderful article by Eve Kahn appeared in the NY Times on January 17. The article, “A POTTER’S SECOND BLOOM” is about John Bennett. The article can be viewed here.
The story promotes The 59th Annual Winter Antiques Show
January 25-February 3, 2013
Open Daily 12:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Sundays & Thursday 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Park Avenue Armory
67th St. & Park Ave.
New York City
2013 Loan Exhibition
Newport: The Glamour of Ornament
Celebrating The Preservation Society of Newport County
Sponsored by Chubb Personal Insurance
for the 17th Consecutive Year
.
The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island’s largest cultural organization, preserves and protects the best of Newport County’s architectural heritage. Its 11 historic properties and landscapes – seven of which are National Historic Landmarks – form a complete essay of American historical development from the Colonial era through the Gilded Age. In keeping with its mission, the Society strives to offer its members and the public a comprehensive view of each property’s architecture, interiors, landscapes and social history. The Society hosts more than 800,000 visits to its properties annually.
The Preservation Society of Newport County in Rhode Island is lending 3 John Bennett pieces for the show.
I remember another John Bennett vase being sold from Newport, I think around 2001, which looked very similar to the ones in the show.
For more information click here.
The vases are from Kingscote.
Kingscote
The Preservation Society’s properties include: The Breakers (1895), Marble House (1892), The Elms (1901), Rosecliff (1902), Chateau-sur-Mer (1852), Kingscote (1841), Isaac Bell House (1883), Hunter House (1748), and Chepstow (1861).
For more information on The Preservation Society of Newport County, please visit www.NewportMansions.org/
The 59th Annual Winter Antiques Show is a benefit for East Side House Settlement.
For more information about East Side House Settlement visit www.eastsidehouse.org
Eve Kahn also sheds light on 2 other John Bennett vases. These 2 vases are now on display at the newly expanded Yale University Art Gallery.
Of the 5 vases, this one was the only one I was familiar with. I remember it from a Rago Arts Auction back in 2006. To see a picture of it then click the Rago Arts logo
I saw it later on the website of the Decorative Arts Society
Visit the Decorative Arts Society website here.
www.decartssociety.org
I think an important point Eve Kahn makes is that the preservation of John Bennett pottery is due to museum acquisitions, the efforts of collectors such as Robert Tuggle and Paul Jeromack and organizations such as the American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation ( Bruce Barnes, Ph.D., President and Founder and Joseph Cunningham, Ph.D., Director).
I think family member and private collections play an important role as well and that with the advance or the internet, the public will benefit by getting to view these pieces.
The museums listed on the right have John Bennett pieces in their collections. I hope you visit them and support them. The list is incomplete. I am very optimistic that with Eve Kahn’s article, more John Bennett pieces will surface and the public will benefit due to the attention she gave John Bennett. A big thank you to Eve Kahn!
UPCOMING: I’m working on an article that will feature a John Bennett vase that’s in a museum collection that has yet been mentioned on this blog. The vase will surprise you and is related in style to one of the Newport vases. Of the 3 vases from Newport, one has a beautiful texture on the neck. The piece in the museum collection I’m going to write about is completely textured and looks like nothing from Bennett that we’ve seen before!
John Bennett Pottery 
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