Horace Potter (1873–1948)

b. 1873 — d. 1948

Horace Potter was among the most successful metalsmiths working in Cleveland in the early 20th century. A Cleveland native, Potter graduated from the Cleveland School of Art and subsequently earned an M.A. from the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts, specializing in silversmithing. Potter returned to Cleveland in 1899 and opened a design studio, working with assistants in a variety of media from silver to stained glass. He supplemented his income by teaching design part-time at the Cleveland School of Art. In 1907 he left for England to study at the Guild of Handicraft in Chipping-Camden, an international center of design in the arts and crafts tradition. He also learned enameling there. After an extended tour through Europe, he returned to Cleveland in 1909 and established the Potter Studio, where key figures in Cleveland’s decorative arts community congregated, including R. Guy Cowan and Louis Rorimer. After 1910 Potter attained professional acclaim and received medals for works exhibited in San Francisco, Chicago, and Cleveland. In 1933 he merged his studio into a new business venture with Louis Mellen to create Potter-Mellen, Inc., a successful enameling and silversmith firm that produced a variety of objects, from jewelry to large liturgical items for religious institutions. Potter remained active in Cleveland until his death. Transformations in Cleveland Art. (CMA, 1996), p. 234