Claude Horan (29 October 1917 – 11 June 2014) was an American ceramicist, glass artist, and teacher. He collaborated with his wife Suzi Pleyte Horan on his large works. Horan started the ceramics program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Early life and education

Claude Horan was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. He received a BA degree from

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

in 1942 and an MA degree in art from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1946.

Career

His wife Suzi Pleyte Horan collaborated on many of the larger projects. He was a lifeguard and longboard surfer in Santa Cruz in the late 1930s, and is credited with naming Steamer Lane. He started the ceramics program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 1947. After a sabbatical in 1967 during which he learned

glass blowing Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...

, Horan established a glass blowing studio at the university in 1968. In 1978, he retired from the University of Hawaii as a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. Horan's students include

Toshiko Takaezu Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011) was an American ceramic artist, painter, sculptor, and educator whose oeuvre spanned a wide range of mediums, including ceramics, weavings, bronzes, and paintings. She was noted for her pioneerin ...

, Isami Enomoto, Henry Takemoto, Chiu Huan-tang and

Harue Oyama McVay Harue Oyama McVay (born 1928) is a ceramist born in Honolulu, Hawaii. While growing up, she had the opportunity to watch the landscape painter D. Howard Hitchcock (1861–1943), who rented his studio from the Oyama family. As an undergraduate at th ...

, who became chairman of the ceramics program upon Horan's retirement. ''Standing Female Figure'', in the collection of the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

is an example of the whimsical ceramic figurines for which he is best known. He begins with a cylindrical vessel on the potter's wheel, onto which he sculpts human features. The

Hawaii State Art Museum The Capitol Modern Museum, formerly (until 2023) named the Hawaii State Art Museum, is a small art gallery located on the second floor of the No. 1 Capitol District Building in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Long known as HiSAM, the m ...

, the

Museum of Arts and Design 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 ...

(New York City), and the Division of Ceramics and Glass of the

National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...

(Washington, D.C.) are among the public collections holding work by Claude Horan. He was named one of the Living Treasures of Hawaii in 1987, by the

Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii (, ''Honpa Honganji Hawai Betsuin'') is a district of the Nishi (West) Hongwanji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, a school of Mahayana Pure Land Buddhism. History Jodo Shinshu Buddhism was established in H ...

List of works

His sculptures in public places include: * Untitled 1976 sculpture,

Leilehua High School Leilehua High School is a public, co-educational, college preparatory high school in Wahiawa, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. It is part of the Hawaii State Department of Education, nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the United State ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

* ''Hoolaulea'' (1976) and ''Cecil'' (1976), Red Hill Elementary School,

* ''Vita Marinae'', 1975, Waikiki Aquarium,

* ''Na heenalu o kailua maluna o ke kilohana a na nalu'', 1974, Kailua High School,

Kailua, Hawaii Kailua () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the North Koolaupoko, Hawaii, Koolaupoko District of the island of Oahu, Oahu on the windward and leeward, windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is i ...

* ''Kii Kalai Mea Pa'ani Na Kamalii'', 1974, Kealakehe Elementary School,

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is most commonly referred to simply as Kona (a name it shares wit ...

* ''The Stallion and His Crew'', 1979, Pukalani Elementary School,

Pukalani, Hawaii Pukalani is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 8,299 at the 2020 census. The western volcano-slope region of Haleakalā, including nearby Makawao and Kula, is referred to as Upcountry M ...

* ''Moby Dick and Friends'', 1980, Kekaha Elementary School,

Kekaha, Hawaii Kekaha (literally, "the place" in Hawaiian) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,715 at the 2020 census, up from 3,175 at the 2000 census. History For most of the 20th century, the ...

* ''In the Spirit of the Koolaus'', 1980, Kalaheo High School,

References

* Haar, Francis, ''Artists of Hawaii: Volume Two'', University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1977, pp. 29–35 * Lagoria, Georgianna M., ''Claude Horan: A Restropective of Ceramic Works'',

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu The Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House, formerly The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, was integrated into the Honolulu Museum of Art under this name. It was the only museum in the state of Hawaii devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The Contem ...

, 2004,
Mark, Steven, "Claude Horan: 1917-2014", June 28th, 2014, ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''
* Radford, Georgia and Warren Radford, ''Sculpture in the Sun, Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces'', University of Hawaii Press, 1978, 79, 93–4. * Wisnosky, John and Tom Klobe, ''A Tradition of Excellence'', University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, 2002, pp. 60–63 * Yoshihara, Lisa A., ''Collective Visions, 1967-1997, An Exhibition Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Art in Public Places Program, Presented at the

Honolulu Academy of Arts The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single collectio ...

, September 3-October 12, 1997'', Honolulu, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, 1997, p. 123.
Claude Horan in the Art Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

California, Birth Index, 1905-1995

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horan, Claude 20th-century American ceramists American modern sculptors American glass artists Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni San Jose State University alumni 1917 births 2014 deaths Artists from Long Beach, California University of Hawaiʻi faculty Ceramists from Hawaii 20th-century American sculptors American male sculptors 20th-century American male artists