Polia Pillin (1909-1992) American, (2) Madonna and Child Ceramic Trays. One in light colors and oval, the other dark in a warped diamond shape, both showing Madonna figures with a Christ child in stylistic homages to Old Master variants. Both signed on the back. Both with small paper labels on the back with information and prior pricing. 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Sizes: 7 x 6 in., 7 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. 

Polia Pillin (née Sukonic or Sunockin) was born on September 1st, 1909, in Częstochowa, Poland. At the age of fifteen she immigrated with her family to the United States, where they settled in Chicago, Illinois. In 1927 she married a Ukrainian immigrant named William Pillin, and together they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico for him to find work. While there she discovered pottery and Native American aesthetics and began experimenting with making works of her own. Her first exhibition was with the San Francisco Art Association in 1939, and the following year they returned to Chicago to be closer to her family. She spent the next few years exploring art museums and exhibits, sitting in on workshops and classes about pottery and constantly developing her style. Her work caught the attention of local art collectors, who helped her meet with teachers at the Art Institute of Chicago. In early 1948 she had her first solo exhibition at the Art Institute, and with financial assistance from her patrons she and her husband moved to Los Angeles, California later that year to build her own home studio, Pillin Art Pottery Company. Pillin used engobe and glaze techniques to create mid-century motifs painted onto hand-thrown pottery such as pots, vases, plates, and bowls, with the majority of subjects involving women or animals. Her exhibitions throughout California led to a permanent exhibition at the Oakland Museum, as well as frequent shows in New York City, primarily in Greenwich Village. Considered an outsider by much of the male-dominated art world at the time, she nevertheless continued to produce new works that fully supported them the rest of their lives, with William passing away in 1985 and Pillin passing on July 25th, 1992. Today her works are highly sought at auctions, and most of her pieces reside in private and corporate collections.

Commensurate with age.