The October 2006 issue of Forbes Collector has a very interesting interview with Linda Leonard Schlenger who founded Friends of Contemporary Ceramics and has accumulated an exceptional collection of studio ceramics that includes examples of George Ohr, Peter Voulkos, Toshiko Takaezu, Richard DeVore, Robert Arneson, Edwin and Mary Scheier, British studio potters Hans Coper and Lucie Rie, and much more.   Some of the best advice that Ms. Schlenger offered in the article and that is applicable not only to contemporary ceramics but collectors of any antique or collectible art pottery is:

• “buy only the best of the best”
• “one of the best ways I’ve educated myself: by talking to other collectors and seeing their collections”.
• “Have patience.  I don’t buy also-rans. Sometimes what you don’t buy is as important as what you do buy.”

If you are looking to see contemporary ceramic collections check out the following museum websites:

• Museum of Art and Design – The Museum of Art and Design is dedicated contemporary objects created in clay, glass, wood, metal and fiber.
• Philadelphia Museum of Art – The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the largest museums in the United States.
• Brooklyn Museum – The Brooklyn Museum is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country.
• Racine Art Museum – The Racine Art Museum houses one of the most significant collections of contemporary craft in North America.
• Mint Museums – The Mint Museums are a resource with noted collections of American art, American and European ceramics, and American decorative arts. The Mint Museum of Craft + Design documents contemporary studio craft, tracing the movement’s historical roots in the 19th century and its relationship to traditional decorative arts and industrial design.

Greg Myroth – Just Art Pottery