As a dinnerware collector, I try to love all my dishes. But, entre nous, I have my favorites. It was a slide in an art history class taught by Susan "Easy A" Fillin-Yeh that first sparked my passion for midcentury design. That slide depicted three objects by Russel Wright: an American Modern pitcher, gravy boat, and celery tray. That image was seared in my memory, perhaps on a part of my soul. Something inside me awakened when I saw it. Until that time, I had only ever collected comic books, other than a rather pathetic attempt at numismatics. (Four highly worn Walking Liberty dollars and some buffalo nickels do not a coin collection make.) But that day, in art history class, I knew I would one day own an American Modern celery tray. It was the seed of my obsession.
I love that celery trays were de rigeur in mid-century households. It is hard to live in an era where the phrase "celery tray" doesn't conjure a mental picture in most people's minds. Slender dishes designed to present, well, celery. Russel Wright's dish, though, was revolutionary. The simple way it folded in on itself made it a more versatile vehicle for serving your guests. Celery looked great in it, sure, but a row of crackers or cookies undulated gracefully along the length of the dish. Those rolled edges made the dish spectacular.
Wright designed American Modern in 1937, and it was produced and released in 1939. In 1941, Red Wing Potteries in Red Wing, MN, released its Party Ware line. Designed by Charles Murphy, this eccentric service included bowls, cups, plates, and serving dishes in four patterns (apples, grapes, pears, and cherries) with three solid glazes on the reverse (bronze, chartreuse, and grey). The fruit decoration is quintessentially early Murphy - it has the same feel as patterns like Picardy, Brittany, Orleans and Fruit Set. This casual dishware featured incongruent, curvy forms with rolled lips.The collector of Party Ware is blessed with myriad combinations to sustain his hunt (7 shapes x 4 patterns x 3 backing glazes = 84 possible combinations); he is cursed, however, because none of the amoebic shapes stack. He needs a LOT of cupboard space.
The celery tray in the Party Ware line clearly shows the influence of Wright's dish. (Given the near-instant popularity of American Modern, Murphy surely had an awareness of the Wright form by 1941). But instead of pure imitation, Murphy gives the dish his own flair. He allows the long sides of the tray to curve in and out. The rolled edge - so pronounced in Wright's design - is more subtle in Murphy's. Murphy succeeds in giving his shape a life of its own, despite being virtually the same size as Wright's. And as much as I admire Wright's solid glazes -- so astonishing in the way they complement the foods presented on them -- Murphy's festive fruits and leaves are an exuberant and appealing flourish, giving the tray life even when it's not in use.
Wright's shape may be my first love, but I do let my eye wander to Murphy's from time to time. What do you think?
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