Large, Two-Handled Art Deco Urn with Stylized Leaves, Deep Orange, 1930

William Hentschel was born in New York City in 1892. He studied at the Art Students League and Columbia University in New York, the University of Kentucky and the Cincinnati Art Academy. He was a well-known painter, teacher, designer, and craftsperson. He was a designer for the Rookwood Pottery Company, where he worked until 1932 and produced over 4,000 designs for ceramics. He taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 1921–57. Hentschel was one of the leading artists at the famed Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati for years, before founding the Kenton Hills pottery in 1937. Hentschel died in Burlington, Kentucky, in 1962.