When I look at the early work of my favorite designers, it's usually easy to see that they had the modern impulse from the get-go. Russel Wright's aluminum designs, Eva Zeisel's ceramics for Schramberg Majolica Factory -- they are trend-forward, exploring materials, shapes, and ideas with a distinctly cutting-edge aesthetic.
In 1940, Red Wing Potteries hired Charles Murphy to set up hand-decorated dinnerware production. His first foray was Provincial Luncheon Ware, designed to evoke French provincial styles. The teapot above is in the Brittany pattern, which he also designed. In form and decoration, the Brittany teapot is decidedly, deliberately, not modern. The bright floral pattern feels quaint and, well, provincial, and the rosebud that serves as the knob on the lid, while charming, is rather twee. No one looking at this teapot in 1940 would feel the shock of the new.
And yet, knowing where Murphy's designs would go allows one to see glimmers of his soon-to-be modern spirit. That spout balances the handle gracefully, and that selfsame knob I called twee two sentences ago has a playfulness that urges you to pick it up. In fact, if anything, Murphy's designs for me always have a compelling, tactile presence -- they invite touch and handling. Compare the Provincial shape teapot with his later designs for Red Wing, such as True China and Cylinder (shown below in the Vintage and Pepe patterns), and there is some continuity. You can see they sprang from the same mind. But if you're like me, you're glad that Murphy's aesthetic evolved.
