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
The next lecture of the WSB will be: “The Emily Winthrop Miles Wedgwood Collection” presented by Elizabeth St. George, Assistant Curator, Decorative Arts & Design at the Brooklyn, NY, Museum, and will be held on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. ET. Ms. Miles (1893-1962), who grew up in New York City, was a direct descendant of Mass Bay Colony governor, John Winthrop. She was an American painter, sculptor, poet, and photographer, and also an avid collector of a wide range of glass and ceramics. Her nearly 1000 examples, to include about 175 pieces of Wedgwood, were donated to the Brooklyn Museum. She had strong ties to the original Boston-based Wedgwood Club. When she began collecting Wedgwood, she commissioned Jean Gorely, a co-founder of the Wedgwood Club, to advise her on purchases and to record the details of each new piece. The Brooklyn Museum staged an exhibition of the Wedgwood collection in 1965 and offered an accompanying catalog. Please join us for this important presentation. The ZOOM link will be emailed to all members several days prior to the event. If you are not a member and would like to join in on the meeting, click the “Become a Member” tab above.The Miles Collection
Meeting and Lecture Schedule
Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 2:00 P.M. Members’ Participation: “Annual Wedgwood Bits & Pieces”; to be held via Zoom. Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 2:00 P.M. Liz St. George, Asst Curator, Decorative Arts, Brooklyn Museum: “Emily Winthrop Miles Wedgwood Collection”; to be held via Zoom Sunday, January 17, 2027 at 2:00 P.M. Peter Kaellgren, Curator Emeritus, Royal Ontario Museum: “Wedgwood in Toronto”; to be held via Zoom Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 2:00 P.M. Robert Hunter, Editor, Ceramics in America: “New Thoughts on Wedgwood’s Portland Vase”; to be held via Zoom Sunday, May 16, 2027 at 2:00 P. M. The Elizabeth Chellis Memorial Lecture: Lucy Lead, Archivist, V&A Wedgwood Collection: “Frederick Rathbone: Early Wedgwood Dealing and Collecting in America”; and “Annual General Meeting”; to be held via Zoom Saturday, July 17, 2027, at 11:00 A.M. Members & Guests Participation: “Fifth Annual Summer Social” venue t/b/d2026-2027
Highlights from Previous Meetings
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. 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).Wörlitz by Harwood Johnson
Classic Black by Brian Gallagher
