Here’s a piece from the Orange Regional Gallery show that I drove out to last year (and reported on in American & European Outsiders at ORG) by Scottie Wilson.
The photo’s a little wonky (taken through a glass case – the plate was on an angle) but I’m happy to have it anyway. Scottie Wilson is an interesting outsider, and there’s a nice article on him on this Tate Britain page.
Specifically, there’s a photo of a letter describing the commission he had to design the series of painted Royal Worcester tableware. I’d assumed this piece is a part of that commission until I read as follows:
In the early 1960s Royal Worcester commissioned Scottie Wilson to design a tableware pattern. It was produced in two different colours, black printed onto terracotta and grey and black printed onto white glazed earthenware. A whole range of dinner, tea and coffee ware was produced at the Palissy Pottery in Stoke on Trent which was then owned by Royal Worcester. The Scottie Wilson pattern was based on the totem poles of the North American Indians which the artist had studied during his many visits to Canada.
Ok, so we have maybe the totem pole, but the colours are not this series. I’d be interested if anyone knows more about this piece and the background to his painting it.
Also, those swans I find intriguing. I know of their importance in American Indian creation myths, and they certainly are wonderful animals. Does anyone know more of Scottie’s interest in swans and other water birds?
