Early Demuth Art, Late Foundation Acquisition

Visitors to the Demuth House often become so entranced by Demuth the art on the second floor that they overlook the Demuth artifacts in the display cases. Yet these objects have an interest of their own that rewards examination. Newest among them is an exquisite little china saucer, the gift of Maximilian H. Miltzlaff, a friend of the late art critic Henry McBride to whom Charles Demuth had given it. The design on this fragile French saucer is of forget-me-nots and leaves in pale shades. The scalloped edge is gilt painted, and fine lines have been traced from the edge toward the center. It may be surprising to discover that in addition to his water colors and paintings, Demuth decorated china. Actually, his interests extended to several crafts, including burnt wood and  needlepoint. His work in such varied media began at an early age, inspired by his teacher, Letty Purple, who lived in nearby Columbia. Miss Purple was doubtless aware of the tremendous vogue for china painting at the turn of the century. Many fashionable young ladies took it up, often going to Europe to study the technique. At first, all china was imported, chiefly from England and France, but good quality white china, or porcelain, became more available in this country when china clay, or kaolin, was discovered in Virginia and North Carolina. The so-called “blank” naturally stimulated the desire to decorate it. Some of the porcelain painting produced by women was of very high merit, and many a fortunate family still has in the cupboard a platter or sauce bowl painted by some great aunt. The paint was made of glass ground to powder and then melted to liquid with various chemicals to obtain desired colors. After the painting was complete, the piece was fired to fix the enamel. Some artist had their own small kilns, which they permitted their friends to use. We do not know where Demuth fired his porcelain. Encouraging Demuth's artistic interest from an early age, his family engaged Lettie Purple to give him lessons. He appears to have responded eagerly under her tutelage at the age of ten and seems to have continued painting in this medium at least until his early thirties. It is impossible to say how many pieces he painted. We do know that he gave them to his friends, who regarded them as prized possessions, including the novelist Carl Van Vechten who remembered “teacups, saucers, plates with flowers, ladies' heads with hats on.” Ettie Stettheimer, last of the trio of sisters whom Demuth knew well, divided her pieces between Van Vechten and Demuth's best friend, decorator/designer Robert Locher. We do not know the identities of other fortunate recipients, although Dorothea Demuth, Charles's cousin by marriage, had many pieces. Given the extreme rarity of the china, we are deeply grateful to Maximilian H. Miltzlaff for contributing Henry McBride's Demuth saucer to the Foundation. As an added bonus, a scrap of paper was affixed to its underside, written in Demuth's hand: “The design & painted flowers are by Charles Demuth - given to Henry McBride.” Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1867, Henry McBride became the leading champion of the modernist art movement in America. Through his weekly column in the New York Sun and in articles for the influential literary journal Dial, and for Creative Art, he promoted the careers of many young painters long before they were recognized by museums and private collectors, including Charles Demuth for whom he had great affection both as an artist and as a friend. Arguably the most significant modern art critic of this century, McBride began his career by praising the work of Marcel Duchamp and only laid aside his pen nearly half a century later after recognizing his successors in the work of Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. Simultaneously witty and wise, McBride left a unique and invaluable record of the development of modern art. A generous selection of his essays and criticisms -- The Flow of Art -- is available for purchase in the Foundation's museum shop. -MW