Lot 673
Brooklin Pottery Large Vase, Theo and Susan Harlander, c.1980
Lot 673 Details
Brooklin Pottery Large Vase, Theo and Susan Harlander, c.1980
of cylinder form with flared rim, incised and painted in colours with leaves and birds in flight
height 27.1" — 68.8 cm.
moulded oval studio mark, incised T. + S. HARLANDER . BROOKLIN . ONT . CANADA
Estimate $1,000-$1,500
Additional Images
Note:
Canada in the postwar period, with its plentiful resources and promises of opportunity, was a desired destination for many Europeans still reeling from the aftermath of the Second World War - Susanne and Theo Harlander included. Following completion of a four-year program at the College of Ceramics in Germany and acceptance into the prestigious potter’s guild, the master potters immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1951. The pair eventually settled in a century old farmhouse that served as both residence and studio in the small village of Brooklin, in what is now the town of Whitby, Ontario.
The Harlanders worked on each ceramic item collaboratively; Theo would throw the piece and cover it with a clay slip which Susanne would then decorate with freeform sgraffito patterns, revealing the colour of the earthenware body underneath. As it was not until the interwar period that abstract art in Canada had taken off in real earnest; the arrival of the Harlanders and the establishment of their Brooklin Pottery Studio in 1952 brought a fresh continental approach to the medium. Contrasting with the majority of ceramics being made at the time, the Harlanders’ cubist and design-centric motifs introduced a distinct modernist aesthetic and technique to Canadian studio pottery. Their unique and distinguished style quickly developed a loyal following, with many people requesting custom-made pieces.
Commissioned for a retiring school teacher in 1980, this large painted vase is evidence of such popularity; and the incised bird in flight design is suggestive of George Braque’s paintings of the same name done in the early 1950s. The cylindrical shape and carefully coloured exterior indicates a precise mastery of the craft.
The Harlanders’ story of European artistic influence and ancestry certainly reflects Canada’s multicultural past, one that is as multifaceted and nuanced as the ceramic works they made in the country they chose to call home.