Grotell, Maija (1899–1973)

Finnish-born US ceramist. Ann innovative and gifted teacher, as well as a pioneer in glaze technology, in 1938 she began a 30 year tenure as head of the ceramics department at Cranbrook Academy of Art near Detroit, Michigan. Her own works, ever experimental, range from simple vessels with art deco motifs to later pieces with craterous glazes, and have earned her 25 major awards. Grotell is acclaimed as the ‘mother of American ceramics’. She was born in Helsinki, Finland, and in 1927 emigrated to New York City to teach pottery.