Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Harrison McIntosh

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.mcinto99
Creators:
McIntosh, Harrison
McNaughton, Mary
Dates:
1999 Feb. 24-Mar. 4
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
143 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Harrison McIntosh conducted 1999 Feb. 24-Mar. 4, by Mary McNaughton, in four sessions, for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's home/studio in Claremont, Calif., One of California's best-known ceramists, McIntosh has enjoyed a long career that has brought him recognition as a master crafstman. In this interview, he looked back on four decades of artistic production characterized by disciplined work, elegant forms, and geometric decoration.
Scope and Contents
Beginning with his childhood in Vallejo, Calif., McIntosh discussed the formative influences on his development as an artist, including the work of his first teacher Arthur Haddock and watercolor painter Barse Miller. He recalled his move to Los Angeles in 1937; the Foundation of Western Art, Stendahl Gallery, and Dalzell Hatfield Gallery; the impact of seeing Japanese ceramics at the World's Fair in San Franciso; his studies with ceramist Glen Lukens; his work in the porcelain studio of Albert King in L.A. and with Ric Petterson at Scripps College, with whom he shared an interest in Swedish, Japanese, and Southwestern cermics; meeting Marguerite Wildenhain in 1953 at a summer pottery workshop at Pond Farm, Guerneville, Calif.; encounters with Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, Peter Voulkos, and artists at Scripps, including Jean and Arthur Ames, Paul Darrow, Phil Dike, Roger Kuntz, Douglas McClelland, Millard Sheets, and Jack Zajac.
Scope and Contents
McIntosh also describes his longtime artistic association with his wife Marguerite McIntosh and his studio mate Rupert Deese; and his techniques for making, glazing, and firing his work.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Harrison McIntosh (1914- ) is a ceramist from Los Angeles, Calif.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview provided by the Pacific Art Foundation. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript available on line
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 6 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hrs., 10 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ceramicists -- California -- Los Angeles Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ceramics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scripps College Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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