Photo Credit: David Dietrich

Artist

Don Reitz (Primary)

Title

Untitled from the Sara series

Date

Circa 1988

Century

20th century

Medium & Support

Earthenware with engobes

Technique

ceramic

Dimensions

Overall: 24 1/4 x 14 x 14 in.

Object Type

Ceramics

Credit Line

Gift of Lisa Shaffer Anderson and Dudley Buist Anderson

Accession Number

2019.09.01

Copyright

In Copyright
© Estate of Don Reitz

Don Reitz Sunbury, PA 1929–2014 Clarkdale, AZ Untitled from the Sara Series, circa 1988 Engobes on earthenware Gift of Lisa Shaffer Anderson and Dudley Buist Anderson, 2019.09.01

Exhibition Title: Collecting Craft & Recent Gifts
Label Date: 11/2019
Type: Object Label
Written by: Whitney Richardson

In the late 1970s Reitz asserted that he was no longer concerned with creating aesthetically pleasing forms; for him pottery was made to express his emotions. This is exceptionally pronounced in works like those from his Sara Series, inspired by his niece Sara. In 1982 Reitz was in a car accident that left him hospitalized for several months, and at the same time his five-year-old niece was diagnosed with cancer. To bolster each other’s spirits, the two exchanged drawings. Happily, they both recovered, and Reitz went back into the studio newly inspired by Sara’s youthful and imaginative drawings. This series was the first time that Reitz painted directly on the clay. He also began using black clay because it was a better canvas on which to paint with engobes, or colored slips.

Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Introduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Catalogue Entry
Written by: Whitney Richardson

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