What, When, Where: A Walk on the Wild Side

By Kara Lashley

I don’t know if it’s the vivid colors, bold animal motifs or fine craftsmanship, but I can’t get enough of the gorgeous ceramics from Waylande Gregory Studios.

One of the most important ceramicists of the twentieth century, Waylande Gregory was an artist in residence at Cranbrook Academy, spearheading its ceramics program, and went on to create a line of decorative wares for stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. (Among his many other accomplishments, he designed a monumental sculpture for the 1939 World’s Fair and collaborated with NASA to develop heat shields for spacecraft.)

The artist died in 1971, but his designs have been resurrected by his great-grandnephew, who discovered a cache of works in the basement of Gregory’s philanthropic foundation. Crafted by artisans in Peru and embellished with 22-karat gold and platinum, the ceramics are just as striking, and just as luxurious, as they were in the 1940s.

Photos courtesy of Waylande Gregory Studios

This spring, you can feast your eyes on a number of Waylande Gregory pieces at The Summer House in New Canaan, Connecticut.