Porter Blanchard

Porter George Blanchard (1886–1973) was an American silversmith living and working in Pacoima, California. He is considered to be part of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Porter George Blanchard
Born(1886-02-28)February 28, 1886 [1]
Gardner, MA[2]
DiedNovember 1, 1973(1973-11-01) (aged 87)
Burbank, CA
NationalityUnited States
Known forSilversmith
MovementArts and Crafts
AwardsMedalist, Boston Society of Arts and Crafts

Career

Blanchard learned the trade of the silversmith from his father, George Porter Blanchard in Gardner, Massachusetts. In 1923, Blanchard moved to Burbank, California, where he established a studio for silversmithing.[3] Between the 1930s and 1950, he operated a shop in Hollywood. He then worked from his home in Pacoima from the 1940s until his death in 1973.[4]

His daughter Alice Blanchard married Lewis Wise, who conducted business as Porter Blanchard Silversmiths in Calabasas, California. After 1955, all Porter Blanchard flatware was made at the Calabasas shop, while the holloware was made at Blanchard's Pacoima home. His daughter Rebecca married Allan Adler, who continued designing as a silversmith in the Arts and Crafts tradition.

Blanchard was a member of the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts and was awarded their title of medalist in 1944.[4]

Legacy

Many of his papers, including photographs of his shop, are collected in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. They were donated to the Archives by his daughters, Rebecca Adler and Alice E. Wise.[4]

Blanchard's works are in the collections of various museums, including the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Oakland Museum of California.[5][6][7]

Further reading
  • The Story of Sterling, Sterling Silversmiths Guild of America, 1937, 54 pages
  • The Arts and Crafts Movement in California - Living the Good Life, ed. by Kenneth R. Trapp for the Oakland Museum, 1993, Abbeville Press, ISBN 1-55859-493-0
  • The Renaissance of an Ancient Art, L. Stanley Grohs, A sale catalog of hand-wrought silver and pewter crafted by Porter Blanchard which were offered for sale in 1930 by S. G. Gump and Company of San Francisco, limited edition, 21 pages.

References
  1. "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J5X3-FPJ : accessed 09 Aug 2013), Porter Blanchard, November 1973.
  2. "Porter George Blanchard". RootsWeb. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  3. Oakland Museum; Renwick Gallery; Cincinnati Art Museum (1993). The arts and crafts movement in California: living the good life. Oakland Museum. ISBN 978-1-55859-393-0. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  4. "Porter Blanchard papers, 1914-1983". Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  5. Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "Dinner Knife, 1970–80". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  6. "Porter Blanchard". LACMA. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  7. "Porter Blanchard". OMCA Collections. Oakland Museum of California. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.