Vase
- Vase
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The first African American to graduate from Cranbrook Academy, Carroll Harris Simms embraced the school’s interdepartmental understanding of sculpture, ceramics, and modern design. Shortly after his graduation in 1950, he was invited by John Biggers to join the faculty of Houston’s Texas Southern University. With the support of the Houston philanthropist Susan McAshan, Simms established a state-of-the-art ceramics studio for the university.
Simms created this beautifully crafted vase for Mrs. McAshan in gratitude for her generosity. Using techniques he had learned at Cranbrook from the Finnish-American potter Maija Grotell, and from her students J. T. Abernathy and Martha Lauritson, Simms layered Albany slip and Bristol glaze to achieve the nuanced barklike texture that animates the surface. The tall, elegant proportions of the vase similarly echo Cranbook’s midcentury modern design aesthetic.
ProvenanceSusan Garwood, Houston; given to MFAH, 2001.
Exhibition History"African-American Art in the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 22–May 9, 2004.
"Houston Collects: African American Art," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 31–October 26, 2008.
"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 7, 2012–January 2, 2013.
"Statements: African American Art from the Museum's Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, January 24–September 25, 2016.
"Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 27–August 30, 2020.
Published References John Biggers and Carroll Simms, Black Art in Houston: The Texas Southern University Experience. College Station and London: Texas A&M Press, 1978, illus. p. 87. Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
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