Leza McVey
Leza Marie McVey (1907–1984) was an American ceramist and weaver. She is known for her large hand-built organic forms.
Also recorded as Leza Marie McVey · Leza Marie Sullivan
Leza McVey
- Name
- Leza Marie McVey
- Birth Name
- Leza Marie Sullivan
- Born
- 1 May 1907
- Birthplace
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Died
- 24 September 1984
- Education
- Cleveland Institute of Art
- Field
- Ceramics, Fiber Art
- Spouse
- William Mozart McVey (m. 1932)
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- ceramicist · sculptor · weaver
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Documentary evidence
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wikidata · Q6538174 · wikipedia · Leza McVey
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Leza Marie McVey • Birth Name — Leza Marie Sullivan • Born — 1 May 1907 • Birthplace — Cleveland, Ohio • Died — 24 September 1984 • Place of death — Cleveland, Ohio • Education — Cleveland Institute of Art • Field — Ceramics, Fiber Art • Spouse — William Mozart McVey (m. 1932)
Documentary record
Leza McVey was a ceramicist, born in 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio and died in 1984. Both events are recorded by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Biography
Biography
McVey née Sullivan was born on April 30 or May 1, 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio. She studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art (1927–1932) and at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (1943–1944). Around the early 30's, McVey's vision began to deteriorate, which continued to deteriorate and affected her throughout her career. In 1932, she married the sculptor William Mozart McVey, and from 1935 to 1947, she worked as a ceramist in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. William accepted a teaching position at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in 1947, and there McVey met the Finnish artist Maija Grotell. Grotell's creation of large-sized vessels inspired McVey's choice for the majority of her vessels to measure more than 50cm. Based on a recommendation from Grotell, she taught a ceramics course over the summer at Cranbrook. In this time, she also became friends with the Japanese-American artist Toshiko Takaezu who studied at the Cranbrook Academy from 1951 to 1954. In 1953, McVey returned to her native city of Cleveland and established her studio in the suburb of Pepper Pike, Ohio. McVey's large-scaled, biomorphic, asymmetrical work is said to reflect her dissatisfaction with wheel-thrown pieces and to have led the way for modern ceramic art in the United States. Influenced by surrealism, her sculptural stoneware and porcelain works embody the natural, organic form. As time progressed, her works shifted from using round and soft shapes to harder, more geometric shapes. In 1965, the Cleveland Institute of Art presented a major retrospective of her work that included seventy-five large scale sculptures or what she called "ceramic forms." By 1979 McVey's production slowed due to her failing eyesight. McVey died on September 24, 1984 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1907
Leza McVey born at Cleveland.
1984
Leza McVey died at Cleveland.
Legacy
In 2002, the art historian Martin Eidelberg wrote a book entitled, The ceramic forms of Leza McVey, which helped bring her work back into the public eye.
Collections containing work
McVey's work may be found in many collections including the Everson Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Syracuse University Art Museum.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Leza McVey, revision 1372499942 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.McVey, Leza at Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2025-02-22.
- 2.Falino, Jeannine. Crafting modernism: midcentury American art and design: [exhibition Crafting modernism. Midcentury American art and design, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, October 11, 2011 - January 15, 2012; Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, February 27 - May 21, 2012]. Abrams. 297. 2011. 978-0810984806.
- 3.Garland Publishing. North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century. 375. 1995. 0824060490.
- 4.Ceramics Today - Leza Marie McVey. www.ceramicstoday.com.
- 5.Folk, Thomas C. “Leza McVey: Fighting Against the Odds.”.
- 6.Eidelberg, Martin. The Ceramic Forms of Leza McVey. Philmark Publishers. 2003. 978-0972690706.
- 7.Janet., Koplos. Makers : a history of American studio craft. University of North Carolina Press. 2010. 9780807834138.
- 8.Object of the Week: Ceramic Forms No. 33 and No. 34 by Leza McVey. Everson Museum of Art. 10 June 2019.
- 9.Leza McVey Ceramic Form No. 25. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- 10.Ceramic Form No. 21. MFAB.
- 11.Works – Leza McVey. Syracuse University Shaffer Art Building.
- 12.Eidelberg, Martin P. The ceramic forms of Leza McVey. Philmark Publishers. 9780972690706.
- 13.Koplos, Janet. Makers: a history of American studio craft. University of North Carolina press. 223. 2010. 9780807834138.
References
Citations
References
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Further particulars
Held on the record
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Leza McVey studied at Cleveland Heights High School, Cleveland Institute of Art and Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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