Imports from Japan were making it difficult for Red Wing Potteries to stay profitable. That wasn’t the only issue at the time. Red Wing employees were not happy with either the company or their union. In January of 1950 the employees voted in a new union. In May of that year, a union strike shut down the plant for 8 weeks. The company at this time hired multiple Presidents and it was determined that in order to survive they must “Diversify or Die”. During this decade there were many new lines and shapes developed to go along with the new modern and functional design styles.
With the departure of Charles Murphy, Red Wing Potteries contracted again with Belle Kogan for two new lines, “Tropicana” and “Textura” in 1950 that included vases, window boxes, and bowls. The “Tropicana” line pieces featured raised flower designs: bird of paradise, shell ginger, and desert flower. The “Textura” line featured pieces with textured surfaces. Many of Kogan’s pieces during this time were marked on the bottom with a “B” preceding the shape number.
💡Further Reading: Belle Kogan and Charles Murphy: Designers at Red Wing Potteries >
Red Wing’s art pottery continued to include new modernist forms that featured the sleek linear style and pastel glaze pallet (pink, turquoise, green and yellow) that reflected the decorating pallet of the decade.
In 1953, Red Wing Potteries celebrated their 75th Anniversary with a special series (known today as the “2300 Series”) offering new shapes with over-lay glazes: grey over luster burgundy and white over luster black.
When Murphy returned in 1953 to Red Wing Potteries, he introduced designs with the fleck glazes in 1954 and the carved “Sgraffito” in 1955. The flecks line used pastel glazes: Zephyr Pink, Yellow, Light Gray, Nile Blue, Colonial Buff, and Light Celadon which had tiny specks of dark brown embedded in the pastel colors. “Sgraffito” pieces were layered with multiple glazes then, before firing, layers were carved away to create design patterns. Like Belle Kogan’s designs, many of Murphy’s production numbers on the bottom of vases were prefaced with an “M.”
In addition to Kogan and Murphy’s contributions, Red Wing created a number of ashtrays for their production line in the 1950s. Ashtrays were available in an endless glaze palette, single to several blended colors, and in all shapes: animals, geometric, wings, teepees, and other modern shapes. Among the most collectible of the ashtrays were the wing-shaped “Pretty Red Wing” featuring an Indian maiden and three Minnesota Twins World Series pieces. The 1957 Red Wing Potteries catalog included a huge spread of different ashtrays.
Charles Murphy’s 1957 “Garden Club” line featured single-colored, matte glazed vases and bowls in black, brown, gray, pink, blue, yellow, and green.
An indepth look at the 2 powerhouse designers for Red Wing Potteries.
Finishing out the decade was the hand-painted “Jolly Jars” series. These jars were produced in sets of three and available in three finishes.
