Wednesday
September 18, 2024 
Rago brings The Ellison Collection to auction on Feb. 28.
The legacy event will present more than 140 ceramic works collected by Robert Ellison throughout his lifetime, tracing his personal history as collector and researcher as well as the broader narrative arc of ceramics as a discipline.
The Ellison Collection will bring historic works of American, European, Post War, and contemporary ceramics to the market, including highlights from the Martin Brothers Pottery, Fulper Pottery, Union Porcelain Works, George E. Ohr, and Peter Voulkos, among many others.
Collectively, this special presentation showcases the range and depth of Ellison’s fascination with the medium and is accompanied by a catalog featuring scholarly and personal essays from David Rago, Dr. Martin Eidelberg, Ellison’s wife Rosaire Appel, and his daughter Hillary Ellison.
Credited with making major contributions to the scholarship of art pottery as a distinct field, Ellison followed his own eye and taste from being an amateur collector to a knowledgeable connoisseur who authored multiple books on the subject.
Over time, he amassed hundreds of works; beginning in 2009, Ellison donated more than 600 pieces to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Ellison was especially instrumental in establishing the reputation of George E. Ohr, the “Mad Potter of Biloxi.” The Ellison Collection will present 20 works by Ohr from Ellison’s personal collection, including multiple Exceptional vases, an Exceptional and Tall pitcher (est. $20,000-30,000), and a Rare ring bottle (est. $12,000-16,000).
Other exemplary works include several pieces from the Martin Brothers – a Tall Wally-bird tobacco jar (est. $45,000-60,000), a second Wally-bird tobacco jar (est. $20,000-30,000), a Snark creature jar (est. $15,000-20,000), and several Grotesque spoon warmers.
Both Ohr and the Martin Brothers worked at the transition of the 19th century to the 20th, mingling humor and irreverence with distinct mastery of their craft.
“This present sale offers another glimpse of the fruits of passionate, informed collecting,” offers David Rago, “and the dedication of five decades in pursuit of the rare and the beautiful.”
The full selection of works from The Ellison Collection will be on view at Rago, 333 N. Main St., Lambertville, N.J., Feb. 21 to 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Additionally, on Feb. 25, Rago will host a string symphony by Concordia from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by a cocktail party and gallery tour of The Ellison Collection, to conclude at 7 p.m. The live auction will begin at 11 a.m. Feb. 28 and accommodates advanced bids, telephone bidding, and live online bidding.
For information, contact info@ragoarts.com or call 609-397-9374.
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