United States
1958; 1967
Ceramic
3 1/2″ diameter x 2 1/2 high; 3″ diameter x 3 1/8″ high

Henry Vanum Poor (1887-1970) was an artist who worked in multiple mediums, including painting, sculpture, and pottery. He studied at Stanford where he entered as an economics major but graduated with a degree in fine art. After travelling abroad to London to train in painting at the Slade School of Fine Art, he returned to Stanford to teach. He eventually settled in Rockland County, New York, where he built a home and small studio called “Crow House.” It is here where he produced his well known pottery, including these two mugs. He often treated his ceramic surfaces as if they were canvases, primarily decorating tiles, cups and plates, and the occasional vessel form. These mugs are decorated with curving vines and foliage using a sgrafitto-like technique. Signed and dated.

His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as the Whitney Museum and the Phillips Collection.