Charles Walter Clewell was not your typical “starving artist.” He sold the very first piece he ever made! He found a steady market for his work, which he created by chemically altering the patina of bronze into hues of blue and blue-green. No one has ever been able to replicate his work.
He said his main reason for keeping his process a secret was to protect the value of the pieces in private and museum collections. He did not want his work mass-produced. He never made a fortune with his art, and resisted friends who urged him to increase production, insisting that it would compromise quality if he made any more.
“I have no ambition to be more than an artist whose work is recognized and appreciated,” he told the Repository (Canton, Ohio) in 1937. “I have no desire to increase my income at the expense of my product. I get along comfortably, I’m happy in my work, I have plenty of leisure time to spend with my daughter and granddaughter and enjoy my favorite hobby, fishing. A man blessed with all this can’t rightfully expect more.”
Honoring Clewell Pottery
In 1937, the Boston Society of Arts & Crafts placed a piece of Clewell’s work in the United States exhibit at the Paris International Exposition. It was recognized and honored by the French government with a diploma. Clewell was elected a mastercraftsman by the Boston Society of Arts & Crafts.
Clewell Pottery Maker's Marks
Each piece of Clewell pottery is unique. Since the artist himself could not predict the color combinations that might occur in his own process, no two could possibly have identical patinations. Sometimes there are well-matched pairs, but none are exactly the same.
His famous blue patina was developed after 1923. His shop was dismantled in 1948, marking the last year of production, although his pieces were sold for a few years after that.
According to his daughter, the numbers on the bottom of a piece designate the piece itself. “A few have finishing data which he alone understood,” she said in a letter to the Stark County Historical Society in the mid-1970s.
Clewell marked his pieces with:
- Clewell
- Clewell Metal Art Canton, O.
- Clewell Coppers
- Clewell Canton, Ohio
- A large “C” with a small “W” inside
Secret of Clewell Pottery
In 1949, Clewell told the Repository that “the art will likely die with me, as I’ve made no provisions for the continuance of this blue-bronze method.”
Indeed he did take the process to his grave when he passed away in 1966 at the age of 86.
His pieces are in museums and private collections throughout the United States and the world. The largest collection of Clewell pottery can be found at the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan in Alpena, MI.
For more information on Clewell pottery:
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