Precision and Expression: American Studio Ceramics from the E. John Bullard Collection

Precision and Expression: American Studio Ceramics from the E. John Bullard Collection introduces and contextualizes a future bequest of 150 ceramics made by over 115 individual artists from E. John Bullard to Bates College Museum of Art. The objects span from the mid-twentieth century–when studio ceramics in America became a distinct field marking a ceramicist's control over all the processes of their work–to those made in the 2020s, as artists combine media and styles and strengthen ties to contemporary art. Works in the collection include seminal figures in American studio ceramics like Laura Andreson, Vivika and Otto Heino, Warren MacKenzie, and Marguerite Wildenhain, as well as various recent innovators in the field, such as Mark Burns, Julia Galloway, Roberto Lugo, and Farraday Newsome. 

The catalogue draws from an exhibition installed at the Museum of the same title, on view from October 2025 to March 2026, co-curated by ceramics instructor Susan Dewsnap and Assistant Curator Samantha Sigmon, who also co-wrote the introductory essay. Additionally, the publication features an essay by design scholar Sequoia Miller, as well as descriptions and artwork images for each ceramicist, many written by student interns. E. John Bullard is Director Emeritus of the New Orleans Museum of Art, where his career as Director and CEO spanned 37 years. In retirement in the 2010s, he focused on creating a comprehensive ceramic collection, which he has invested in institutions like Louisiana State University and NOMA, and now Bates College Museum of Art, where work can be studied for many years to come.