Rupert Deese (born Rupert Julian Deese and known as Rummy) (July 16, 1924 – July 12, 2010) was an American ceramic artist. He is known for innovative design and decoration of high fired ceramics. Deese wrote "It is my hope in making these vessels that as the perception of their beauty diminishes over time, they will sustain themselves by pleasant usefulness."

Biography

Rupert Deese was born in Agana, Guam, where his father served as a

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

officer. After graduation from high school in 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, serving stateside as a

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

. Deese graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950 from Pomona College. After graduation, he starting working as a ceramist in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

, sharing a studio with ceramist Harrison McIntosh. Their working relationship lasted for more than 60 years. Deese and Helen Smith (September 15, 1925 – June 4, 2010) married in 1951 and reared four children. In the mid-fifties, supported by a grant from local art patrons Robert and Catherine Garrison, Deese entered

Claremont Graduate School The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...

, studying ceramics with Richard Petterson and sculpture with Albert Stewart. He also benefited from the community of artists living in Claremont, most notably architect

Millard Sheets Millard Owen Sheets (June 24, 1907 – March 31, 1989) was an American artist, teacher, and architectural designer. He was one of the earliest of the California Scene Painting artists and helped define the art movement. Many of his large-scale b ...

and Jean and Arthur Ames, who provided encouragement and support in the early years of his career, and from a close-knit circle of young artists including woodworker

Sam Maloof Sam Maloof (January 24, 1916 – May 21, 2009)
''Press-Enterprise'' ...

and painters Melvin Woods, Jim Hueter, Jim Fuller, and

Karl Benjamin Karl Stanley Benjamin (December 29, 1925 – July 26, 2012) was an Americans, American painter of vibrant geometric abstractions, who rose to fame in 1959 as one of four Los Angeles–based Abstract Classicists and subsequently produced a c ...

. After receiving his Master of Fine Arts in ceramics in 1957, Deese continued making his own ceramics in his studio. However, like many artists, he found it necessary to supplement his income. After graduation he began teaching ceramics at Mt. San Antonio College in

Walnut, California Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 28,430. The greater Walnut Valley is located between the steep San Jose Hills to the nort ...

and remained on the faculty until 1971. In 1958 Deese and McIntosh moved their studio to a purpose-built space next to McIntosh's new home in Padua Hills in Claremont. Deese's pottery gained national recognition in 1960 when his covered bean jar won the IBM sweepstakes prize at the prestigious 21st Ceramic National Exhibition at the

Everson Museum The Everson Museum of Art ( ) in Downtown Syracuse, New York, is a major Central New York museum focusing on American art. History The museum was founded in 1897 by art historian George Fisk Comfort (who also helped found the Metropolitan Muse ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

In 1964, Deese accepted a full-time position as a designer in the Franciscan Ceramics division of Interpace (International Pipe and Ceramics Corporation) in Los Angeles. Millard Sheets, as a consultant to the Franciscan Ceramics division, assembled a design team of talented artists, including ceramists Richard Petterson,

Dora De Larios Dora De Larios (1933 – January 28, 2018) was an American ceramist and sculptor working in Los Angeles. She was known for her work's clean lines and distinctive glazes, as well as for her line of tableware created under her family-run company I ...

, Helen Richter Watson, Henry Takemoto and Jerry Rothman. For the next twenty years until his retirement in 1984, Deese created shapes and patterns for

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

dinnerware, glassware, and flatware, including the dinnerware shapes for Madeira, one of the company's best-selling dinnerware patterns. In the evenings and on weekends he continued to work on his own ceramics in his Padua Hills Claremont studio. In the 1950s, Deese's hand thrown ceramics were available from several interior design firms, including Dean Marshall in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

. In the 1970s Deese's ceramics were sold at Gallery 8 in Claremont and in the 1990s at Tobey C. Moss Gallery in Los Angeles. Deese created numerous custom pieces, many of them commissioned by Millard Sheets for clients of his Claremont design studio, including a drinking fountain for Oakmont Elementary School, personalized ashtrays for benefactors of

Harvey Mudd College Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, focused on science and engineering. It is part of the Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds and resources. The college enrolled 902 undergra ...

, a bronze tree for the

Home Savings of America H.F. Ahmanson & Co. was a California holding company named after Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. It was best known as the parent of Home Savings of America, once one of the largest savings and loan associations in the United States. Early history Howard ...

in Beverly Hills, and a planter for the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

Members' Dining Room.

Exhibitions

*1950-1956

Los Angeles County Fair The Los Angeles County Fair is an annual county fair. It was first held on October 17, 1922, and ran for five days through October 21, 1922, in a former beet field in Pomona, California. Highlights of the fair's first year were harness racing, c ...

Exhibition,

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

*1950-57

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

Art Museum, Claremont, California, Annual Ceramic Show *1951-52 Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, ''Ceramic National Exhibition'' *1951-52

California State Fair The California State Fair (CSF) is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The Fair is a 17-day event showcasing California's industries, agriculture, and diversity of people. Th ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

*1954 Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, ''Ceramic National Exhibition'' *1955-57

Pasadena Art Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Simon collections ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, ''California Designed Exhibition I, II, III'' *1956 Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, ''Ceramic National Exhibition'' *1957 California State Fair, Sacramento, California *1960 Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, ''21st Ceramic National Exhibition'' *1965 Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, California, ''California Design 9'' *199
Hillcrest Arts Festival

La Habra, California La Habra – archaic spelling of – is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. History Origin of name The name refe ...

*199
Tobey C. Moss Gallery
Los Angeles, ''Four Friends, The Work of Rupert Deese, Jim Hueter, Sam Maloof, and Harrison McIntosh'' *1996

Craft and Folk Art Museum Craft Contemporary, formerly the Craft and Folk Art Museum, is a non-profit, non-collecting arts museum dedicated to showcasing contemporary craft in Los Angeles, California. The museum is located on Los Angeles' Museum Row on Wilshire Boulevard, ...

Shop, Los Angeles *1997 The

Chinati Foundation The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati is a contemporary art museum located in Marfa, Texas, and based upon the ideas of its founder, artist Donald Judd. Mission The specific intention of Chinati is to preserve and present to the public pe ...

and The Judd Foundation,

Marfa, Texas Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, United States, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, at an elevation of 4685 feet. It is the county seat of Presidio County, Texas, Presidio County. The ci ...

, ''Rupert Deese, Barnett Newman and Dan Flavin'' *1998 ,

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

*1999 Tobey C. Moss Gallery, Los Angeles, ''Stoneware'' *2000 Tobey C. Moss Gallery, Los Angeles, ''Rupert J. Deese (the Elder)Off the Wall, Rupert T. Deese (the Younger) On the Wall'' *2003 Tobey C. Moss Gallery, Los Angeles, ''Rupert Deese: Stoneware'' *2003 Cuttress Gallery, Pomona, California, ''

Paul Soldner Paul Edmund Soldner (April 24, 1921 – January 3, 2011) was an American ceramic artist and educator, noted for his experimentation with the 16th-century Japanese technique called raku, introducing new methods of firing and post firing, which bec ...

, John Blough, Rupert Deese, and Harrison McIntosh'' *2006 Tobey C. Moss Gallery, Los Angeles, ''California Modernism'' *201
Compact Gallery

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

, ''Six Decades of Stoneware'' *2011 The

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...

, California, ''The House That Sam Built: Sam Maloof and Art in the Pomona Valley, 1945–1985'' *2011

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, California, ''California Design, 1930–1965: Living in a Modern Way'' *2011

American Museum of Ceramic Art The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) is an art museum for ceramic art, located in Pomona, California. Founded in 2003 as a nonprofit organization, the museum exhibits historic and contemporary ceramic artwork from both its permanent collec ...

, California, ''Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California 1945–1975''

Awards

*1950-1951 Los Angeles County Fair Exhibition, Pomona, California. Honorable mention. *1951 Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, Ceramic National Exhibition. Honorable mention *1952 California State Fair. Second prize for glaze. *1953 St. Paul Gallery, Fiber-Clay-Metal exhibition. Honorable mention and purchase award. *1960 Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, 21st Ceramic National Exhibition. IBM sweepstakes prize.

Collections

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

*Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York *

Henry Art Gallery The Henry Art Gallery ("The Henry") is a contemporary art museum located on the campus of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located on the west edge of the university's campus along 15th Avenue N.E. in the Un ...

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Long Beach Museum of Art The Long Beach Museum of Art is a museum located on Ocean Boulevard in the Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States. The museum's permanent collection includes over 4,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, works on paper, ...

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 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Maloof Foundation

Alta Loma, California Alta Loma (Spanish for "Tall Hill") is one of three unincorporated areas that became part of the city of Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States in 1977. The community is located at in the foothills of the south face of the San Gabriel M ...

*Millard Sheets Collection,

Gualala, California Gualala ( ; Pomo: ''Qh awála-li'') is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County in the U.S. state of California. It is located north of The Sea Ranch and south of Point Arena, California. Gualala shares its southern border with the so ...

Mingei International Museum Mingei International Museum is a non-profit public institution in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, that collects, conserves and exhibits folk art, craft, and design. The museum was founded in 1974, and its building opened in 1978. The word ' ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA) is an accredited academic art museum focused on modern and contemporary art, located at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, Logan, Utah. NEHMA was founded in 1982 with the ceramic collection of phil ...

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Richard & Alice Petterson Museum
Claremont, California
Roger Corsaw Collection

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in Alfred, New York, United States. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the statutory New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The In ...

Alfred, New York Alfred is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Allegany County, New York, Allegany County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 4,896 at the 2020 census. The Town of Alfred has a Administrative divisions ...

*Scripps College, Claremont, California *St. Paul Gallery,

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

, Minneapolis *

, Pomona, California

References

Books

American Museum of Ceramic Art
''Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California, 1945-1975.'' American Museum of Ceramic Art (2013) * Elliot-Bishop, James F. ''Franciscan Hand-decorated Embossed Dinnerware.'' Schiffer Publishing (2004) * Lauria, Jo and Gretchen Adkins, Garth Clark, Rebecca Niederlander, Susan Peterson, Peter Selz. ''Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000: Selections from the Smits Collection and Related Works at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.'' Rizzoli International Publications (2000), pp. 97 * Nelson, Glenn C. ''Ceramics, A Potter's Handbook, Second Edition.'' Holt, Rinehard and Winston, Inc. (1966), pp. 268–269 * Page, Bob and Dale Frederiksen, Dean Six. ''Franciscan: An American Dinnerware Tradition.'' Page/Frederiksen Publications (1999) * Perry, Barbara. ''American Ceramics: The Collection of Everson Museum of Art.'' International Publications (1989), pp. 231 * Kaplan, Wendy. ''California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way".'' The MIT Press (2011), pp. 6, 18, 184, 212, 325 * Nelson, Harold B. ''The House that Sam Built: Sam Maloof and Art in the Pomona Valley, 1945-1985.'' Huntington Library Press (2011), pp. 17, 25, 96, 120-21 * O'Connor, Tish. ''Standing Room Only, Scripps 60th Ceramic Annual.'' Perpetua Press (2004), p. 16 * Tigerman, Bobbye. ''A Handbook of California Design.'' Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art. (2013) .

External links

Rupert Deese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deese, Rupert 20th-century American ceramists American potters Dinnerware designers People from Claremont, California People from Hagåtña, Guam 1924 births 2010 deaths American industrial designers Pomona College alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers