Ernest A. Batchelder
Ernest A. Batchelder | |
---|---|
Born | January 22, 1875 Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S. |
Died | August 6, 1957 (aged 82) Pasadena, California, U.S. |
Known for | tile |
Movement | Arts and crafts movement |
Ernest Allan Batchelder (January 22, 1875 – August 6, 1957) was an American artist and educator who made
Early life
Ernest Allan Batchelder was born on January 22, 1875, in Nashua, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire.
Career
Batchelder's life took a turn in 1909 when, behind his house overlooking the
The style in which Batchelder worked was highly distinctive. First, he used a single-fire process known as engobe in which a primary wash of colored clay slip (usually pale blue) was applied to the surface of the tile before being fired, pooling in the recesses of the design, with excess being wiped off. Then the tile was fired. A typical glazed tile is fired twice–once before glaze, and once after, thereby sealing in the added color. Batchelder's designs often drew on Medieval themes but also included flowers, vines, and California oaks; birds, particularly peacocks; Mayan patterns; Byzantine themes; and geometric shapes.[5]
Batchelder architectural tiles met with great success, and the company moved twice, expanding each time. Its tiles appear on the walls and floors of many New York City apartment house lobbies, and can be found in shops, restaurants, swimming pools and hotels throughout the United States.
One of Batchelder's last and largest projects was the
One of Batchelder's famous earliest commissions became Los Angeles Historical-Cultural Monument No. 137: a Dutch-themed Chocolate Shop. The cocoa-brown walls were crowned with tiles of Dutch maidens, wooden clogs, and windmills. "It's certainly one of the most beautiful and extravagant tile interiors in Los Angeles or anywhere," said Ken Bernstein, manager of the city's Office of Historic Resources. "It's a remarkable example of the use of ceramic tile and a preeminent example of Batchelder's work."[7]
Batchelder House
The
Books
Batchelder wrote two books on tile design: The Principal of Design, (1901);[9] Design in Theory and Practice, (1911).[10]
Awards and honors
- Between 2016 and 2017, the Pasadena Museum of History in Pasadena, California, hosted Batchelder: Tilemaker, a retrospective of Batchelder's life and career.[11][12]
See also
References
- ^ Winter, Robert (2003). "Ernest Batchelder; essay from California Tile – The Golden Era 1910-1940" (PDF). Tile Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ Verlaque, Laura (2017-09-27). "Ernest Batchelder: Educator, Designer and Tilemaker: Part I". Pasadena Museum of History. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
- ^ California Death Index, Ancestry.com, retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Massachusetts Normal Art School Circular and Catalogue, 1897-1898.
- ^ Arnold, Liz (9 July 2014). "The Quest to Save LA's Century-Old Batchelder Tile Masterpiece". Curbed Los Angeles. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ISBN 9780810938670.
- ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ^ Adams, Elaine (Summer 2017). "How the San Gabriel Valley Inspired California Impressionism and Lured Artists from across the Nation, Part II of III" (PDF). California Art Club Newsletter. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
- ^ Batchelder, Ernest (1908). The Principles of Design. Boston.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Batchelder, Ernest (1911). Design in Theory and Practice. Boston.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ O'Connor, Pauline (24 September 2016). "Pasadena Museum of History debuts fantastic new Batchelder exhibit". Curbed Los Angeles. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ King, Heather (9 February 2017). "'Batchelder: Tilemaker' at the Pasadena Museum of History". Angelus. Retrieved 19 September 2020.