Wayland Gregory Art Deco Porcelain Zebra Sculpture, Glazed, Signed, 1940s, Usa

Wayland Gregory, Porcelain zebra sculpture, glazed, signed, 1930s, USA. New Jersey, circa 1935, high glazed ceramic, incised signature, Measures: 4 5/8″ W x 1 1/2″ D x 5 1/2″ H
Exhibitions:
Waylande Gregory: Art Deco Ceramics and the Atomic Impulse, University of Richmond Museums, Cranbrook Art Museum and Canton Museum of Art, 16 November 2013 through 23 March 2014
Literature:
Folk, Thomas, Waylande Gregory: Art Deco Ceramics and the Atomic Impulse, University of Richmond Museums, 2013, p. 123
Waylande Desantis Gregory (1905 Baxter Springs, Kansas – 1971, New Jersey) was one of the most innovative and prolific American art-deco ceramics sculptors of the early 20th century. His groundbreaking techniques enabled him to create monumental ceramic sculpture, such as the Fountain of the Atoms and Light Dispelling Darkness, which had hitherto not been possible. He also developed revolutionary glazing and processing methods, and was a seminal figure in the studio glass movement.
Exhibiting his ceramic works at such significant American venues for sculpture as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and at the venerable Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, he also showed his ceramic sculptures at leading New York City galleries.
His groundbreaking techniques enabled him to create monumental ceramic works, including The Swimmer (1937) and Fountain of the Atom for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Gregory was the first modern ceramist to create large scale ceramic sculptures, some measuring more than 70 inches in height. Similar to the technique developed by the ancient Etruscans, he fired his monumental ceramic sculptures only once.
At the same time he was sculpting his monumental terra cotta sculptures during the 1930s, Gregory was also creating small porcelain figures in his home studio, some of which he sold through his exclusive design studio to select clients. This zebra is a wonderful example of his 1930’s work, with his fantastic mixing and application of glaze, geometric stylization of the zebra form and abstract Art Deco design at the base. Many of his smaller scale works are left without color or feature an all-over color glaze. This is a fantastic example of a fully realized small-scale work with an intricate surface.