Hope Dexter
| Hope Dexter | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 5, 1918 Tilleda, Wisconsin, USA |
| 💀Died | February 18, 2018 Clintonville, Wisconsin, USAFebruary 18, 2018 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 🏫 Education | Clintonville High School |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | sculpture |
| Notable work | Dickens Characters Collection |
| Style | Ceramic relief murals |
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Hope Dexter, September 5, 1918 - February 18, 2018,[1] was an American sculptor, artist and writer. Many of her freelance works are held privately throughout the United States with some commissioned works in public view in Wisconsin, USA. These include finished works in a number of churches, a seminary, public buildings and private collections, fine gift shops, art galleries. Dexter worked briefly at the FWD Corporation, before her 50-year art career as a sculptor, ceramist and writer.[1] She worked from her home studio at 71 Hughes Street, Clintonville, during most of her many productive years.
Biography
Early life
Hope Dexter was born in Tilleda, Wisconsin on September 5, 1918, where her father was the minister at a local church. She graduated from Clintonville High School in 1936 where she received training from her art teacher, Helen Taft Hunt. She was married to Eugene Dexter in Clintonville, Wisconsin, on April 22, 1939.[1]
Education
Her basic training aside, Dexter was primarily self-taught via self study.[2] She also attended public and night school classes, and learned from discussions with fellow artists.
Career
Dexter's art career was most active from the 1950's to the 1990's (specifically the 60's, 70's, 80's and early 90's).
Late career (1996-2016)
After retiring from her studio, Dexter spent her later years as an author writing short stories. In her later years, she was a member of the Shawano Area Writer Club, Shawano, Wisconsin.[3] Dexter moved in 2005 from her studio/home on Hughes Street to the Sun Valley Manor, Clintonville, Wisconsin.
Style
Dexter's design and sculpture artworks were primarily in ceramic & porcelain. Her works include varied free-standing sculptures, figurines (large and small), portraiture, collector dolls and collector plates. She also created Toby mugs, medallions, pendants, relief wall art (small, to larger size murals), hand-crafted mosaics, tiles, etc. Hope Dexter developed ceramic relief murals, a rare style in the Art Show circuit.
Ceramic Relief Murals Approach
After designing the picture, a large sheet of clay is rolled out on a strong supportive easel. The design is traced onto the clay, providing the guide for carving. Once the sculpture is complete, the clay is cut into appropriate sections and a mold made for each section. Clay slip is poured into the molds and this builds up an even wall thickness, which is necessary in order to keep warping down to a minimum. This enables production of sizable wall art. While in the raw clay (greenware) state, all the sections are fitted together to ensure a good fit in the final assembly. After the sections are fired to 1886 °F (higher for stoneware), they are once more fitted together and filed down where necessary to re-ensure that all part and interface specifications are well met. A stained finish requires one firing. Glaze finish may require two or more firings, depending upon the glaze used. The last step is to cement the sections onto a pre-measured and prepared exterior wood (plywood) frame; grout between sections and touch up any areas needing attention.
Notable Works
Dickens Characters Collection
Hope Dexter spent three and a half years fashioning a 24-piece Dickens Characters Collection (27 characters, 4 to 6-1/2" tall), exquisitely detailed, delightfully quaint and lifelike, fired in colorful glazes.[4] This collection, consisting of 27 characters from Charles Dickens' novels,[5] has been shown in many cities, including Chicago and three different exhibits at the Oshkosh Public Museum.[6][7][8][9]It was featured on the color cover and center-fold of the Milwaukee Journal Rotogravure on December 17, 1961[10] and televised on WTMJ-Milwaukee at the 150th Anniversary of Charles Dickens. The Dickens Characters Collection includes: Micawber, Tiny Tim on the shoulder of Bob Cratchit,[11] Uriah Heep, Cheeryble Twins (Ned and Charles), Scrooge, Mrs. Cratchit, Marley's Ghost, Cap'n Cuttle, Sairey Gamp, Miss Havisham, Mr. Pumblechook, Maggy, Daniel Quilp, Caleb Plummer, Tilly Slowboy holding Baby John, Barnaby Rudge, Miss Nancy, Bill Sikes and his dog Bull's Eye, Fagin, Oliver Twist, Sam Pickwick, Dora Spenlow , David Copperfield. Charles Dickens himself, at about 28 years of age,[12] seemingly presides over his creations, in Dexter's Dickens Characters Collection. He is seated in a Victorian chair, pen in hand, surrounded by his books.[13] This work by Hope Dexter is highly celebrated for its worldwide uniqueness.[4]
The Dickens Characters Collection are faithful to Charles Dickens' description and, wherever possible, identical to the engravings of Phiz and Cruikshank. Where no suitable working sketch was available, Dexter used her own interpretation. She used a Norman Rockwell painting for the model for Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit characters. A few years ago, the Gorham China Company came out with reproductions of Norman Rockwell's work,[14] and their Tiny Tim[15] and Bob Cratchit showed an uncanny likeness to Dexter's carvings though she completed her rendition in the 1950's, long before Gorham put their pieces on the market. The sculptures look identical except for the stump which Gorham added to the base for support and to facilitate pouring and production.
Each figure in the collection was originally sculpted in a solid water-base clay mold, by pouring a clay slip into the mold. The molds were Dexter's earliest efforts at mold-making and were very crude. Sculpting each figure was a laborious, time-consuming and frustrating process. Dexter originally intended to produce the characters as a source of income, since they engendered considerable interest; however it became evident repeating such painstaking process several times would not be feasible. Having spent considerable time researching and creating these "little folk", Hope Dexter began to feel a very special relationship with her miniature Victorian family. With the exception of a few early characters, which were sold, it was determined that this should be a Collection unique in all the world and the quaint tiny people of an earlier England should remain together.[6][7][8][9]
In response to requests and letters of commendation, Dexter decided to create five plates, carved in relief, from sketches in Dickens' novels. A few plates were placed in Gimbels, Appleton, and subsequently, the designs were sold to S-K Potteries, Pueblo West, Colorado. A letter dated 12/4/62 from the Milwaukee Public Library states, "We have, I think, had more interest in this display than anything we've had..."
Other Works
Dexter donated nine larger figurines, "Notables", including Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Marian Anderson, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Jacqueline Kennedy, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and Drummer Boy of Shiloh, to the Oshkosh Museum.[16][17] Also, a bust of Bart Starr, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1961 was donated to the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Dexter's Don Johnson doll is listed on WorthPoint,[18] and her Carrie Nation doll is on display on Pinterest.[19]
Several designs and models were sold to the ceramic industry in Haverhill, Massachusetts; Pueblo West, Colorado; Crest Molds, Logansport, Louisiana; Seeley Ceramics, N.Y.; Franklin Mint,[20][21] Pennsylvania; Enesco Imports, Illinois; Expressions in Porcelain, Edgerton, Wisconsin (and later in Cambridge, Illinois).
Exhibitions and Awards
Hope Dexter won a number of awards in area, state and national professional competition, and some of her works are on display at various locations:
- Charles Dickens in Victorian chair Ben Franklin Toby mug, commissioned by the Franklin Mint in 1980,
- George Washington Toby mug, commissioned by the Franklin Mint in 1980.
- Award to Hope Dexter by Proctor and Gable, for carving of a family out of soap. Clintonville Tribune-Gazette, Clintonville, Wisconsin, June 10, 1984.
- Award from "Popular Ceramics" magazine for Professional Creative Effort in Hobby Ceramics for five arctic figures, including an Eskimo boy and girl, a seal, a bear and a seal. Clintonville Tribune Gazette, Clintonville, Wisconsin, March 2, 1992.[22]
- Oshkosh Public Museum Ceramic Show, 1979.
- Dairyman's Family Mural, Dairyman's State Bank, 1975.[23]
- Quarterback Bart Starr at the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame.[24]
- Sculpture of St. Matthew Donated to Camp Trinity For Family Cabin #1 to be called St. Matthew's Cabin, Christian News. Jan 10, 2011.[25]
Writings
Dexter also wrote a few articles including:
- "Woodland Plates" by Hope Dexter.
- "Along the Nature Trail" by Hope Dexter.
- "Faithful to the cause" by Hope Dexter, 1976.
- "Once Upon a Time" by Hope Dexter, circa 2005. This short story describes the early life of Hope Dexter.
- "Bygones" by Hope Dexter, circa 2005. This short story describes the early life of Hope Dexter centered on her grandparents.
- "The Best" by Hope Dexter, circa 2005. This short story describes the early life of Hope Dexter centered on her mother Mabel and her father, Rev. E.C.F Stubenvoll.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dexter, Hope (05/28/2020). "Hope Dexter Obituary". Legacy.com. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ Joy Krause, Self-taught artistic career is carved out of clay, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 17, 1999
- ↑ "Shawano Area Writers – to help professional and hobbyist writers learn and grow". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Steve Krikara, Dickens' novels inspire artist's ceramic sculpture, Midland Cooperative, Superior, Wisconsin, Vol 46, No. 24, November 20, 1978.
- ↑ Long, Richard W. (April 1974). "The England of Charles Dickens". The National Geographic Magazine, Vol 145, No. 4. Copyright 1974 National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., International Copyright Secured. p. 443-483.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kuony, John H., Director, Oshkosh Public Museum, 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, (November 23, 1965) letter about the successful exhibit and an effort to keep the collection together at the museum with a provision for its being available for loan to other museums.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kuony, John H., Director, Oshkosh Public Museum, 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, (January 21, 1965) letter praising and requesting a showing of Hope Dexter's work including tile mosaics at the museum. http://www.oshkoshmuseum.org/oshkoshpublicmuseum/
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kuony, John H., Director, Oshkosh Public Museum, 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, (March 27, 1981) loan and insurance agreement for Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, Marley's Ghost, Mrs. Cratchit, and Scrooge. Dickens characters from Mrs Hope Dexter.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kuony, John H., Director, Oshkosh Public Museum, 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, (July 24, 1985) letter to Hope Dexter accepting characters for the museum.
- ↑ Christmas! Bah, Humbug!, Sunday Picture Journal, Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 17, 1961 (cover page and article pages 8 and 9).
- ↑ The Saturday Evening Post, Vol. 207, No. 24, Dec 15, 1934, "God Bless us every one" Charles Dickens with Tiny Tim on the cover page, Oshkosh Public Library, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
- ↑ Dickens at 28 years of age. Invitations, University of Oshkosh Publication, 1979. Article describes the Dickens Collection by artist, Hope Dexter displayed in the Oshkosh Public Museum.
- ↑ Wilson, Angus. The World of Charles Dickens. Search this book on
- ↑ "Gorham Annual Collector's Edition Plate 1974 Norman". Etsy. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ↑ "NORMAN ROCKWELL FIGURINE 1979 vintage porcelain ornament Tiny Tim Gorham Carol". Uniquetreasurefreak LLC. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ↑ Kuony, John H., Director, Oshkosh Public Museum, 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, (July 24, 1985) letter to Hope Dexter accepting porcelain figurines for the museum (Abraham Lincoln, Sir Winston L. Churchill, Mother Teresa, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, George Washington, Jacqueline Kennedy, Drummer Boy of Shiloh, Mahatma Gandhi, Marian Anderson, Albert Schweitzer, including mold for Abraham Lincoln).
- ↑ Larson, Bradley, Director, Oshkosh Public Museum, 1331 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, (January 13, 1993) letter expressing appreciation for the gift of the mold for the Abraham Lincoln figure.
- ↑ "16" Clay Artist Doll of Don Johnson by Hope Dexter Miami Vice 1986 | #461561096". Worthpoint. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ↑ "22-Artist-Doll-of-Carrie-Nation-by-Hope-Dexter-Clay-1976 (With images) | Carrie nation, Artist doll, Dolls". Pinterest. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ↑ Babette A. Burns, The Franklin Mint, Franklin Center, Pennsylvania, letter to Hope Dexter regarding art materials dated October 15, 1979.
- ↑ Cheryl A. Testa, The Franklin Mint, Franklin Center, Pennsylvania, letter to Hope Dexter dated February 20, 1980 enclosing $2000.00 for two Toby mugs of Ben Franklin and George Washington.
- ↑ "Dexter wins top award". Award from "Popular Ceramics" magazine for Professional Creative Effort in Hobby Ceramics for five arctic figures, including an Eskimo boy and girl, a seal, a bear and a seal. Clintonville Tribune Gazette, Clintonville, Wisconsin, March 2, 1992.
- ↑ A blending of art and architecture, 1975, Dairyman's Family Mural, Dairyman's State Bank.
- ↑ Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame, Inc. (Gift Agreement).
- ↑ New Family Cabin "St Matthew" and Wedding at Camp Trinity, New Haven, MO, June 6, 2011.
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