The Art of Reading: “Red Brick, Black Mountain, White Clay”

Personal memory and cultural history combine in Christopher Benfey’s New York Times Notable Book and connections to the Mint’s ceramic collections abound. Characters and times range from Anni and Josef Albers and their residence at Black Mountain College to Josiah Wedgwood’s quest for Carolina Cherokee clay to the history of Seagrove potters.

Enjoy a conversation about this book, then take a docent-led visit to view works in the Portals to the Past and Ancient Americas galleries that we connect to Benfey’s book.

“A pottery vessel…is meant to fulfill a purpose…held in the hand and drawn into the movement of practical life.” – Georg Simmel