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Whale

A work made of glazed earthenware.

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  • A work made of glazed earthenware.

Date:

1927

Artist:

Carl Walters (American, 1883–1955)

About this artwork

Carl Walter’s Whale was inspired by the artist’s interest in the arresting blue color of many Egyptian ceramics. The artist recalled, “I just couldn’t get that blue out of my head. I dreamed about it, talked about it, and finally I set out to discover how I could reproduce it.” After years of research and experimentation, Walters landed on a formula and firing technique that satisfied him, using it to create a wild menagerie of animals including this lively whale. Here, Walters used the vibrant glaze as the background to dense aquatic surface decoration, a reference to the leviathan’s oceanic home.

Status

On View, Gallery 271

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Carl Walters

Title

Whale

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1927

Medium

Glazed earthenware

Inscriptions

Signed and inscribed bottom, middle, incised under glaze: "[square in circle] / Walters / 19 [squiggle line continuing to left of horse head] 27 / [artist's horse head insignia]”.

Dimensions

19.7 × 42.6 × 19.7 cm (7 3/4 × 16 3/4 × 7 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Jane and Morris Weeden and Wesley M. Dixon Jr. endowment funds; Arts of the Americas Discretionary Fund

Reference Number

2022.243

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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