Ceramics

Pablo Picasso became enamored by ceramics in 1946, when the 60-year-old artist stumbled upon a pottery fair near his summer home in the South of France. There, Picasso met the owners of the Madoura Pottery workshop and began a collaboration with the studio that lasted until his death in 1973. Picasso, known for his prolific output, designed 633 different ceramic works, ranging from carved editioned plates to unique bird-shaped pitchers. Since Picasso created his ceramics while on holiday, his creations often feature a sense of joy and wit. Picasso also met his second wife, Jacqueline Roque, at the Madoura Pottery workshop, further contributing to his uplifting motifs during this time. Passionate about expanding his collector base, Picasso created many ceramics in large editions with accessible prices, though the market for some of his unique ceramics has since skyrocketed. Le Hibou (Rouge et Blanc) (1953), a one-of-a-kind earthenware sculpture of a patterned owl, set the auction record for Picasso’s ceramics, selling for over $2.4 million at Christie’s in 2016.