Van Briggle
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Van Briggle Pottery was founded in Colorado Springs, Colorado, by artist Artus Van Briggle, a former decorator at Cincinnati's celebrated Rookwood Pottery. Artus Van Briggle was born to artistic parents of Dutch descent in Felicity, Ohio, in 1869, and after moving to Cincinnati in 1886 began learning pottery at the world-famous Rookwood Pottery. In 1899, struggling with health issues due to tuberculosis, Artus left Rookwood and moved to the drier air of Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he devoted himself to reviving the lost matte glaze techniques of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, and he continued his research on the ancient matte glazes that fascinated him in Paris, and after two years of trials and experiments a matte glaze was perfected. His designs, rooted in the Art Nouveau style, quickly earned international acclaim, including the Paris Salon award in 1903 for his "Despondency" vase.
Artus married fellow artist Anne Lawrence Gregory, who had trained alongside him and became deeply involved in the business. Van Briggle married Anne Lawrence Gregory in 1902, and Anne, an accomplished artisan, became adept at producing her husband's glaze formulas. Tragically, Artus died from tuberculosis on July 4, 1904, and Anne continued to run the company until 1912, steering it through the construction of a landmark new headquarters, the Van Briggle Memorial Pottery, whose ornate tile facade remains an architectural showpiece in Colorado Springs today.
Van Briggle pottery is prized by collectors for its rich, velvety matte glazes—ranging through blues, greens, browns, and later maroons and yellows—applied over sculptural, Art Nouveau-influenced forms often incorporating stylized plant and figural motifs. After changing hands several times during its history, the Van Briggle Art Pottery Company finally closed its doors for good around 2014, and pieces from the founding Artus and Anne era, along with well-preserved examples of the company's signature glazes, are especially sought after among collectors of American art pottery.
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