Vase by Paul Putzki

Paul Putzki

c. 1894–1906

Porcelain, enamel, painted

Dallas Museum of Art

This vase is an exceptional example of late 19th-century china painting. Paul Putzki (1858-1936) who executed this piece was one of America's foremost ceramic artists in the 1880s and 1890s. After coming to this country from Germany in 1880, he worked for awhile in East Liverpool, Ohio. After a few years he opened a studio in Chicago where he taught many students. One of his students, Mrs. P. B. Ware, persuaded Putzki to give lessons once a week in Richmond, Indiana, for herself and her friends. It was while teaching in Indiana that Putzki met Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. Following her husband's election as President, Mrs. Harrison asked