Still-life Sculptures

Edris Eckhardt (American, 1905-1998) Earth, c. 1939 Signed on base Glazed earthenware 20.5 x 7.5 x 7 inches Born in Cleveland, Ohio January 28, 1905, Edris was given the name Edythe Aline Eckhardt. After graduating from Cleveland's East High she enrolled in the painting program at Cleveland School of Art. While enrolled in school she worked part-time at Cowan Pottery where she learned production techniques and firing schedules of various ceramic materials. She switched her choice of study at CIA to sculpture and graduated from Cleveland's School of Art in 1932. Edythe changed her name to the non-gender-specific name Edris in her mid-twenties after being passed over for an award to study sculpture in Europe for one year. Following graduation Edris studied sculpture with Alexander Archipenko in Woodstock, New York. She returned to Cleveland that same year. She was hired as a faculty member of Cleveland School and taught at the institution for 30 years. From 1935-1942 Ms. Eckhardt was the head of the Ceramics and Sculpture division of the Federal Art Project (later known as Works Progress Administration - WPA) of Cleveland. During this time frame she won first prize of the 1936 Cleveland Museum of Art May Show for her Alice in Wonderland figure, third Prize in the 1937 May Show for a Song of the South...