Programs

Tea set with strawberry pattern.
Terra-cotta-colored tea set with floral pattern.
Light blue jasperware tea set.
Tea set, white with ornate deep red vegetal patterns.

Please note that some of our lectures continue to be held via video conferencing and all members receive an email notice with the ZOOM link. Otherwise, in-person meetings are held in the greater Boston area and are free and open to the public, unless otherwise indicated. Also note that the WSB now offers to its members the ability to enjoy past lectures they may have missed or wish to revisit. Please go to the Members Zone page and follow the easy instructions.

Next Meeting

Wedgwood in Virginia: Highlights Above and Below Ground

Please join the Wedgwood Society of Boston’s video-conference on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. EDT, for the Elizabeth Chellis Memorial lecture to be presented by Angelika Kuettner, associate curator of ceramics and glass at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. From molded dinner wares to transfer printed tankards, the evidence for Wedgwood wares and influence may be seen in 18th-century Virginia, as in early America overall. This beautifully illustrated lecture explores the archaeological and documentary records for the prevalence of Wedgwood in Virginia and shares other Wedgwood treasures in Colonial Williamsburg’s important collection of British ceramics.

Angelika Kuettner joined Colonial Williamsburg 2008 as a graduate student intern in the ceramics and glass department during which time she compiled a glossary of white salt-glazed stoneware plate borders for the publication Salt-Glazed Stoneware in Early America by Skerry and Hood. Prior to graduate school at William and Mary, she worked as curatorial assistant at the Reeves Center at Washington and Lee University. Angelika has lectured on a variety of topics and served as editor and author for a number of publications. She currently serves on the board of the American Ceramics Circle.

This event will also include the “Annual General Meeting” during which time board nominations, fiscal reports, and the year-in-review will be presented.

Members will be sent the link to the Zoom session prior to the meeting.  It can also be found in the Members Zone. If you are not a member, we invite you to become one and see what you’re missing. Go to the Become a Member page.

Meeting and Lecture Schedule

2023-2024 Program

Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 2:00 P.M.  Members’ Participation: “Annual Wedgwood Bits & Pieces”; to be held in-person at the Dedham Museum and Archives, Dedham, MA 

Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 2:00 P.M.  Michael Ruddy, V&A archives: “The Ark” Wedgwood and European Refugees, 1933-1945; to be held via Zoom 

Sunday, January 14, 2024 at 2:00 P.M.  Adele Barnett, founder WSWDC: “Shell-Shock: Centuries of Wedgwood Shell Fancying”; to be held via Zoom 

Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 2:00 P.M.Aileen Dawson, former British Museum curator: “Wedgwood and Royalty”; to be held via Zoom 

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 2:00 P.M.  The Elizabeth Chellis Memorial Lecture: Angelika Kuettner, Colonial Williamsburg ceramics curator:Wedgwood in Virginia: Above and Below Ground”; and Annual General Meeting; to be held via Zoom 

Sunday, July 14, 2024.  Members & Guests Participation: “Annual Summer Social”; to be held in-person at a venue t/b/d 

Highlights from Previous Meetings

The first Summer Social

The first annual WSB Summer Social was held Sunday, July 16, 2023, in York, Maine. Members and their guests enjoyed a three-part program comprised of visits to two significant private Wedgwood collections at the homes of members Adele & Alan Barnett and Barbara Hansen, along with a lobster/clambake at Foster’s. Prizes were awarded and despite the rain, a good time was had by all who made the trek from six different states as far away as Maryland. Stay tuned for details on the 2024 event.    

Wörlitz by Harwood Johnson

Having visited Wörlitz in Germany, Woody Johnson shared the history and images of the Wedgwood objects acquired by Leopold III Friedrich Franz, Prince von Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817). The 18th century palace and its collections still stand intact to this day. The example here is a pair of Wedgwood & Bentley variegated vases on basalt plinths.

Two blue-green variegated vases with gold-colored details.

Classic Black by Brian Gallagher

Grayish-black sculpture of a sleeping baby.

Curator Brian Gallagher of the Mint Museum, Charlotte, N.C., presented “Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries,” an exhibit he staged along with an accompanying book. Shown here is Somnus (the sleeping baby).