Jack Earl (American, 1934-2023), Salt and Pepper of the Earth

1991, glazed porcelain, figural salt and pepper in three parts, comprising a standing figure with dog set upon a oval platform terrace, inscribed "Jack Ohio Earl 1991v Salt and Pepper of the Earth" along the terrace profile.

Man 5 3/8 in.; dog 3 in.; oval terrace 1 3/4 x 3 1/2 x 5 in.

The Contemporary Art Collection of Francine & Benson Pilloff, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Born in Uniopolis, Ohio, Jack Eugene Earl attended Bluffton College and Ohio State University during the 1950s and 1960s, where he worked on producing Japanese-inspired pottery. His style changed drastically after he saw European porcelain figures in the 1970s. An art education and ceramics teacher at the Toledo Museum of Art, he was particularly attracted by the Watteau-like, painted porcelain figurines manufactured at Meissen during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At this point he stopped making functional pottery and began to create ceramic sculptures portraying scenes of midwestern life. Earl has drawn upon his experiences of living in Ohio as inspiration for the imagery in his work.
Earl saw his first overseas showing take place at the International Exhibition of Ceramics in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. He continued to be exhibited over four decades in both galleries and museums, including Clay Things at Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; and the American Craft Museum, New York. His work is included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, and Toledo Museum of Art. Earl has received the coveted Ohio Governor’s Award for the Arts for Individual Artist, the American Craft Council Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts award.

Biography courtesy of the Smithsonian Museum of Art

Small chips to uppermost elements of dog and man; loss to dog's left ear; crack and repair to man's shoulder.