Danish MCM Stoneware: Ejvind Nielsen Own Studio, Large Bowl, Reddish Brown Glaze

Description: Danish MCM Stoneware: Ejvind Nielsen Own Studio, Large Low Bowl, Reddish Brown Glaze The island of Zeeland in Denmark has a rich ceramics history and was home to many of the most well-known 20th century Danish stoneware workshops. The independent workshop of Ejvind Nielsen in Hvidovre is a little-known part of that history. Although Ejvind Nielsen is little known outside of Denmark, the quality of his stoneware output is on a par with Hjorth, Kahler and other important Danish stoneware workshops of his era. Following is a brief biography of one of my favorite Danish stoneware artists, drawing from the limited available information on his life and work. Ejvind Nielsen (1916-88) is one of the most under-appreciated 20th century Danish stoneware masters. Although he produced very high quality stoneware during the years from 1943 to 1978 in his workshop on M. Bech Allé in Hvidovre, Denmark, little is known of his life’s story. The workshop where he and his wife Lizzi worked for more than three decades has long since been demolished, and they had no children to carry on the family business. Ejvind Nielsen’s historical legacy is thus the stoneware produced in his independent workshop, which is still under-valued in today’s market compared to other Danish stoneware of the Mid-Century Modern era of the 1950s and 1960s. This story is an initial attempt to recognize the life and work of an artist now dead more than 30 years. While very little has been written about Ejvind Nielsen, some basic facts of his life story can be gleaned from other sources. While virtually nothing is known of his childhood and education following his birth in 1916, it is reported that Ejvind Nielsen spent time in England in the 1930s. He also spent time in Spain as a volunteer aid worker during or after the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). His experience in Spain was reported to have had a big impact on him. Over his adult life, it is said that he experienced periods of deep melancholy that sometimes affected his ability to work. Prior to building his own modest workshop in Hvidovre in 1943, Ejvind Nielsen is known to have worked at the Royal Copenhagen factory under its artistic director Thorkild Olsen. There he took on difficult glazing tasks and oversaw the placement and firing of stoneware in the kiln. While at Royal Copenhagen, Ejvind Nielsen met his wife Lizzi, who was also employed there. After Ejvind left Royal to start his own workshop, Lizzi stayed on for a couple of years before joining him. Making a living and producing and selling stoneware during World War II was very difficult for the young couple. In the beginning, Ejvind cycled back and forth from their home in Nærum, where he also worked at the ceramic workshop of Christian Schollert. While Ejvind Nielsen’s role there has not been documented, he is likely to have been influenced by the functionalist ceramics produced by Christian Schollert and his wife Esther. The Schollert workshop in Nærum was known for its streamlined forms inspired by the modern technical wonders of industrialization, some of which seem to draw inspiration from the work of the Danish stoneware master Arne Bang. The Schollert workshop is particularly known for objects, usually in delicate blue, white and grey glazes, which were thrown by Christian and then decorated by Esther with deep grooves. It is worth noting that Christian and Esther Schollert’s daughter is the well-known Danish ceramicist Helle Allpass (1932-2000), who helped establish the Association of Danish Artisans in 1976. Despite the challenging times, Ejvind Nielsen purchased a plot of land on M. Bech Allé in Hvidovre and completed construction of a kiln in 1943. A small cabin was attached to the workshop, and Ejvind would spend the night there when he worked too late to return to Nærum. While the war ended in 1945, material shortages persisted for many years, hampering the ability of Ejvind and Lizzi to expand their production. Nonetheless, they persisted and gradually expanded the range and quantity of stoneware produced. There is no record of the workshop employing other workers, so most of the work fell to Ejvind and Lizzi, often including working into the night to help deliver the goods ordered. As the shortages of the post-war era faded, demand for decorative arts grew, fueled by young families flocking to Copenhagen and other Danish cities. Danish crafts, in general, experienced great growth and recognition in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, and the Nielsens were able to benefit from this trend. Like many of his contemporaries, however, Ejvind Nielsen was reported to be a better craftsman than businessman. That said, he did find a number of local outlets for the sale of his stoneware, the most prominent of which was the large department store Magasin du Nord. Another important outlet for Ejvind Nielsen stoneware during the period was Kunst Kernn Jespersen in Lyngby. Examples of Nielsen stoneware with labels from Kernn Jespersen can still be found in the market today. Nielsen apparently also attempted unsuccessfully to develop a relationship with Illums Bolighus, the most important outlet for art ceramics of the day, but he was reportedly rebuffed due to its competition with the nearby Magasin du Nord. Some export outlets were also developed in North America, including Vancouver, Canada, and pieces of Nielsen stoneware can still occasionally be found in American collections and markets. Over the period from 1943 to 1978, Ejvind and Lizzi Nielsen produced several lines of artistic ceramics. The workshop’s output is easy to identify by virtue of its “Ejv. Nielsen” and “Danmark” signature. Although much of the workshop’s output was serial production, pieces do not carry either model numbers or dates. Although some unique pieces can be found, most of the workshop’s output consists of several very distinct lines, the dating of which needs further research. One line, perhaps dating to the early period of the workshop in the 1940s and 1950s featured organic forms, often glazed in whites and blacks. Even more common was a series of bowl and vase forms, often with incised decoration, primarily in browns and greens, sometimes combined with yellows and reds. Less common, but equally successful, were pieces in this line glazed in a rich blue. This line of Ejvind Nielsen artistic stoneware is especially noteworthy for their rich and thickly applied glazes. The same rich palette of earth-toned glazes, developed by Ejvind Nielsen, was used for a third very different line of the workshop’s output, namely wall relief plaques with motifs inspired by the natural world. It is with this line that Lizzi made her greatest artistic contribution to the workshop’s outputs. Although these pieces still carry the “Ejv. Nielsen” signature, she is reported to have been the primary creator of this line, with Ejvind responsible for the glazing. While many of these plaques feature fauna (and flora) commonly found in Denmark, others feature exotic wildlife. The inspiration for this series is reported to have come from a sabbatical Ejvind and Lizzi took to travel in Africa in 1964. Eventually, a large series of relief plaques was developed, and they proved to be one of the workshop’s biggest sellers. In some cases, Lizzi appears also integrated reliefs of animal figures into bowls thrown by Ejvind and decorated in the same brown and green glazes. Ejvind and Lizzi were able to keep the workshop open until 1978. Up to that time, the kiln was regularly being fired, except during Ejvind’s depressive periods. To supplement their income from the workshop, Lizzi trained as a crafts teacher and also found employment in other workshops. In addition to holding a permanent job, Lizzi also enjoyed giving evening classes in Hvidovre. Although the workshop closed in 1978, ten years before Ejvind’s death in 1988, they continued to sell from their stock until at least 1987. This beautiful low bowl is instantly recognizable as a part of a line of MCM stoneware produced by Ejvind Nielsen with rich, heavy earth tone glazes and rims with cross-hatched hand-incised decoration. The glaze color on this large bowl is a particularly nice semi-gloss brown with orange and red tones.This bowl is very well marked with the artist's hand-incised EJV. Nielsen signature and "Danmark." This bowl, one of two currently up for auction, is a little less than 1.5 inches high and roughly 8 inches wide and is in excellent original condition, with no observed flaws. Please see the photos for further details on condition. Buyers interested in this artist should feel free to inquire about other pieces I will eventually list from my extensive collection of Ejvind Nielsen stoneware. All shipping is by USPS insured Priority mail, and great care will be taken with packing this piece. A flat rate shipping charge of $25 applies to this listing. Flat shipping rate applies only to U.S. buyers. International buyers will pay higher actual shipping costs and should inquire prior to bidding. About the seller: I have been collecting art pottery for more than 30 years. The bulk of my collection is Danish stoneware from the 1920s into the 1970s. The bulk of my Danish collection consists of Arne Bang, Saxbo, Jais Nielsen, Nils Thorsson, Erik Hjorth, and Ejvind Nielsen. I have done extensive research on these and other artists and workshops and would be happy to share that with interested buyers. I also have substantial collections of American, French, Belgian and other 20th century northern European art pottery. Over the coming months I will be listing a wide range of pieces from my collection. Please check out my other listings and add me to your list of saved sellers to receive notification of new listings.

Price: 180 USD

Location: Fort Collins, Colorado

End Time: 2025-01-14T16:55:28.000Z

Shipping Cost: 25 USD