Warren MacKenzie (1924-2018) American, (4) Marked Stillwater Stoneware Pieces. Three are lidded vases and one is a teapot with no lid. Each has his "W" mark near or on the base. 

Condition: Overall excellent. Teapot has a small apology below the spout. 

Tallest Size: 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 12 in. 

Warren MacKenzie was born on February 16th, 1924 in Wilmette, Illinois. He first discovered pottery in art class at New Trier High School in Winnetka, but he was more drawn to abstract painting. After being drafted in 1943 he served in the Army during World War II, and when he returned from combat in the Pacific Theatre he used the GI Bill to attend the Art Institute of Chicago. Unfortunately, all the painting classes were full, so he chose to register for a ceramic class and became instantly hooked. After graduating in 1949 he and his first wife, fellow potter Alix MacKenzie, traveled to Britain to study under Bernard Howell Leach after reading his seminal work, “The Potter’s Book.” In 1950 they met Shoji Hamada, who introduced them to Japanese and Korean influences that profoundly affected their style. After completing their apprenticeship with Leach in 1952 they moved to Stillwater, Minnesota, where they opened their own pottery studio. He became an instructor at the University of Minnesota in 1954, and taught generations of potters to develop their own aesthetic ideals rather than copying his style. Alix died from cancer in 1962, by which time Warren was a full Professor at the University and exhibiting constantly in St. Paul. He raised their two children, Alix and Shawn, on his own until 1984 when he met and married fiber artist Nancy Spitzer. He became involved with the National Council on Education in Ceramic Art and Minnesota Craft Council, turning the Twin Cities into a vital arts center for Midwest pottery and painters. In 1968 a fire destroyed his barn studio and all of his pieces within, but he built a new salt kiln and started from scratch with assistance from colleagues like Kathleen Blackshear, David Weinrib, Josef Albers, and more. In 1981 he was named one of the 12 greatest living potters in the world by Ceramics Monthly, and retired from the University in 1990 as Regents Professor Emeritus. He won the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award in 1999, and continued to teach workshops and masterclasses around the world until the death of Spitzer in 2014. He retired from the art world and lived his last years on his farm studio, passing away on December 31st, 2018. Many of his stoneware pieces bear simple “chop” marks, reflecting the Japanese simplicity he aspired to in his work, and the Schaller Gallery in Michigan now houses the largest portion of his works that are for sale in the world. Most of his other pieces are in private and public collections, including permanent displays at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Japan Folk Craft Museum in Tokyo, where he is especially celebrated for embracing and spreading the Mingei Japanese Pottery tradition.

Overall excellent. Teapot has a small apology below the spout.