Tamac Pottery was a line of

mid-century modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

ceramic glazed dinnerware that was manufactured in Perry Oklahoma from 1946 to 1972. The stream-lined

biomorphic Biomorphism models artistic design elements on naturally occurring patterns or shapes reminiscent of nature and living organisms. Taken to its extreme, it attempts to force naturally occurring shapes onto functional devices. In h ...

pottery line included tableware and housewares.

History

The Tamac pottery factory was located in a

quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I. Hund ...

in Perry, Oklahoma, that had previously been used during World War II by the military. The company was founded by Leonard Tate who grew up in Perry. After the war, he married Majorie Hemke

ate Ate or ATE may refer to: Organizations * Association of Technical Employees, a trade union, now called the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians * Swiss Association for Transport and Environment, a sustainable public transp ...

Henry and Betty Macaulay joined the partnership in the Fall of 1946. Marjorie Tate had been formally trained in art (sculpture and design) at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. She later went on to design floor coverings before starting the pottery business with her husband Leonard. In 1952 the Tate's sold the factory business to Earl Bechtold and his wife. Their son, Earl Bechtold took over the business in 1960 who ran it until selling the operation to Joseph and Mary Hladik. Mary and her daughter, Lenita Moore ran the business until its closure in 1972. The irregularly-shaped glazed

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

pottery was designed by Marjorie Tate, Leonard Tate, Betty Macaulay and Allen Macaulay. It has been exhibited in several museum exhibitions, including the ''Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age 1940–1960'' show at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

and the ''Hot Cars, High Fashion, Cool Stuff. Designs of the 20th Century'' exhibition at the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

. Tamac produced pieces in several glaze colors of which avocado green with dark green airbrushed trim is the most common; other colors include gray, raspberry, "butterscotch" (yellow), and the frosty line consisting of three colors: "frosty pine", "frosty fudge, and "frosty pink" with white trim. The biomorphic-shaped dinnerware included dishes, bowls, cup and saucers and serving vessels, as well as vases, candle holders and other accessories, such as decorative "wall pockets". Several department stores in the region carried the Tamac line of tableware.

Collections

Tamac pottery is held in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, the Garden at Newfields and more. It is located at the corner of No ...

, the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts 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 ...

, and other institutions.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tamac Pottery website

Ceramics manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Oklahoma Mid-century modern Design companies established in 1946 1946 establishments in Oklahoma American pottery Individual patterns of tableware

History

Collections

See also

References

Further reading

External links