Stephen POLCHERT Vintage Studio Pottery DECORATED BOWL MCM Natzler/Grotell Era. 7? ” wide x 3? ” tall. Unusual decorated early 1970′s vintage Stephen Polchert modernist studio art pottery bowl. Polchert rarely decorated his pots, but when he did so, it was sparingly but very effective, and the minimalist volcanic brown diagonal line decoration used in this example really adds to the visual appeal of the bowl. All sides of the bowl are represented in the photos. An artist often identified with the Eames-Natzler era, Stephen Polchert was born in Milwaukee, WI in 1920. After serving in the South Pacific during World War II, he studied art at the Layton School of Art and the University of Chicago. Polchert then received his M. From the Cranbrook Academy of Fine Arts in Michigan, where he was an assistant to Finnish artist Maija Grotell. His work has since been exhibited throughout the country, including five international shows at the Smithsonian Institute and in at least ten permanent museum collections, including the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, the Milwaukee Art Institute, and the Joslyn Art Memorial, as well as in numerous private collections. Set decorators have used Polchert’s pieces in the movies The Usual Suspects, and Corinna, Corinna, and he has been commissioned to create works for churches and offices throughout the Midwest. In addition to teaching at colleges and high schools, Polchert taught ceramics at Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Town for over twenty years. Stephen Polchert died tragically on February 6, 2008, Ash Wednesday– he was hit and killed by a car while waiting in his driveway for his ride to Mass.
