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Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

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No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Malcolm Davis, Artist, Papers, A&M 4263, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

Malcolm Herbert Davis, Jr. (1937-2011) was an internationally acclaimed ceramic artist who first began working with clay at the age of forty. Previously, Davis served as a campus minister at the Ecumenical Campus Ministry, George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He was also a well-known social activist. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City and ordained United Church of Christ clergy, he considered his life in clay as a continued ministry. According to Davis, the making of pots was "a way to celebrate the mundane rituals of daily life and to make them holy."

Davis was most well-known for the shino glaze recipe (known as "Malcolm's Shino") that he developed, which is still in use by potters in the United States and Europe.

Davis first exhibited his ceramics in 1991 at the Greenwich House Nancy Hartsock Gallery in New York City. His work was also featured at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, the Smithsonian Craft Show, and the American Craft Council Shows, and he was a regular participant in the Annual Pottery Invitational for over 30 years. His work can be found in numerous museum collections, including the American Craft Museum (New York City), the American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona, CA), the Chein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art (Alfred, NY), Mobach Collection (Utrecht, Holland) and a permanent collection in Yixing, China. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including four grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Known internationally for his functional porcelain shinoware, Davis taught and lectured widely throughout the U.S., Canada, and Italy. He was also featured in over 15 books and publications in the U.S. and Europe.

Though born in Newport News, Virginia, Davis spent much of his life in Washington, D.C. and kept his studio and kiln in Tallmansville, West Virginia.

[This note is based upon contents of a funeral program in this collection.]

Scope and Contents

Papers of Malcolm Davis, noted potter and ceramic artist. The collection includes slides of his work, some correspondence, shino glaze recipe cards, sketchbooks, photographs, and research books regarding ceramics. Davis was known for his shino pottery with a distinctive glaze, and much of the collection relates to that work.

This collection is organized into six series:

Series 1. Slides and Photographs, 1970s-2000s: Images of Davis's work, exhibitions and glaze samples, as well as his West Virginia studio and various teaching engagements. Works include shino and celadon teapots, vases, jars, platters, "white pots," Penland celadon miniatures, sake sets, casseroles, vessels, honey jars and planters.

Series 2. Notebooks and Sketchbooks, undated: Notes including Davis's designs, glaze experimentation, kiln logs, international travels and more.

Series 3. Professional Papers, 1970-2015: Materials relating to Davis's career, such as workshop handouts, exhibitions, grants awarded and resumes.

Series 4. Publications, 1977-2012: Books, magazines and journals related to ceramists and their work from the United States, Europe, Asia, Eastern Russia and the Middle East. Magazine and journal titles include Ceramics Review , Clay Times , Ceramics Monthly and The Studio Potter .

Series 5. Shino Recipes, undated: Hundreds of recipe cards for Davis's famous shino glazes.

Series 6. Correspondence and Personal Papers, 1993-2012: Letters and emails from friends and fellow artists including Jack Troy, Jim Robinson, Val Cushing, David Woodin, Tom Coleman, Pete Pennel and David Leach, as well as materials from Davis's memorial and career retrospective and miscellaneous articles of personal significance.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Art and artists
• Ceramics
• Davis, Judy
• Davis, Malcolm H., 1937-2011