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

The Miles Collection

The next meeting of the WSB will be a lecture entitled, “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. The Zoom link will be emailed to all members several days before the event.

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, photographer and collector of glass and ceramics. The Brooklyn Museum which houses about 175 pieces of Wedgwood, staged an exhibition of the collection in 1965 and offered an accompanying catalog.

If you are not a member and would like to join in on the meeting, click the “Become a Member” tab above.

Meeting and Lecture Schedule

2026-2027

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/d

Highlights from Previous Meetings

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).