It's a Bust

Meet John G. Bullock, founder of Bullock's Department Store. For people of a certain age, you might remember shopping here, especially those in Southern California. I don't have memories of Bullock's, per se, but I do remember it as an option at the mall. It closed its doors forever in 1995, but when it opened in 1907 it was glamorous. 

Here is in an inside joke: When my husband and I go out to antique stores in search of Brad Keeler Artwares, if we don't find anything, my husband will declare it "a bust" to which I unfailingly reply, "no, it's a torso". I'm the one in the family who makes the dad jokes. But in this case, it really is just a bust, not a torso. 

Yes, there's a Brad Keeler connection.

Brad graduated high school in 1931. Upon graduation, and even before, he lucked into some industry jobs thanks to his famous father, Rufus Bradley Keeler, whether that be cleanup work on the Malibu Potteries after a fire, or in the case of this bust, working for Phillips Bronze Bushing Works.

Rufus and a man named Rae Warren Phillips became acquainted circa 1909, the year that Rae Warren married Rufus' first cousin Jennie. Despite being in different fields--metallurgy and ceramics-- the two men occasionally worked together on projects, even going as far to apply for and receive a patent for a tile making apparatus. 

Both men, now married and both with sons, continued to make their way in life. Eighteen year old Brad, having demostrated a gift for drafting and modeling, began working for Rae as a modeler. There are large bronze parrots (as in, 5' tall!) that have been attributed to Brad, but which are signed simply Phillips. We can only make assumptions based on the similarities between Brad's later ceramic parrots and these early bronze ones. However, there's more data when it comes to the bust of John G. Bullock.

Here is a photo from the family album: Brad Keeler leaning casually on the bust. My mom remembers, after her father died, while her brother Pat was engaged to his second wife, Judy, going with her mom to Bullocks Wilshire in Los Angeles and seeing the bust in person. And she remembers that it is signed Brad Keeler on the back.

It has occurred to me to wonder from time to time where that bust wound up, considering how long its been since Bullocks closed its doors. Google is not always helpful, until it is. You have to have the exact right search terms. And I have tracked it down. It's housed within a former Bullocks which is now a Macy's, on Lake Ave in Pasadena, down a hallway to the bathrooms. The store itself is a museum of sorts, with its original furniture and fixtures and artifacts from the golden age of Bullocks Department Store, including the bust.

Pasadena is about an hour away from house and its one of our regular haunts for looking for Brad Keeler Artwares. Next time we're in the area, I plan to make a pilgrimage to the bust. Sure, it's up against the wall now, so I may not be able to see his signature.

But I will know its there.

For next time: Brad Keeler and the 1935 Oscar statuettes. 

New(ish) article up in Atomic Ranch!

Hello dear readers,

Life sometimes gets the better of me so here it is five months later and I realize I never posted anything about the article I wrote for Atomic Ranch, "The Enduring Charm of Brad Keeler Artwares." Enjoy!

Clay Bodies: An Excerpt

Yesterday was the 110th anniversary of my grandfather Brad Keeler’s birth. Brad was my mother’s father, and his wife Catherine, my grandmother who I am named after and who I knew and loved. Brad died when my mom was four years old. Her memory of him is fragmented at best.

For the past ten years, I have been working--slowly--toward a book about him and his father before him, Rufus Keeler. It is my way of my excavating the family history, and examining it in the light.

The year 2022 saw an acceleration of this project, so now I am confident (knock on clay) that 2023 will be the year that I will finish the book, entitled Clay Bodies: The Brief Lives and Lasting Legacies of Rufus B. Keeler and Brad Keeler, Father and Son Ceramicists.

Periodically, I will be posting excerpts from the book. I invite my readers and Keeler ceramics collectors to share their thoughts and ask questions.

Click here to read today's excerpt, "Taking the Long Way Home," on Everyone the Same Soup.

How to Correctly Identify a Brad Keeler Piece

On weekends, my husband and I often find ourselves near antiques shops. When we do, we scour the glass cases and open shelves for anything that could have been produced by my grandfather, Brad Keeler. We've had some lucky finds: flamingos, a rooster platter, and most recently a covered serving dish from the fish service line.

It does seem that authentic pieces are becoming harder and harder to find, likely due to the limited production because of my grandfather's short lifespan. As of this writing, on January 24, 2023, there are 147 Brad Keeler listings on eBay.

A quick scan of them tells me that most of them are authentic. Most, but not all.

Whether unscrupulous or simply uninformed, some sellers attribute the Brad Keeler name to pieces that, to a novice, bear a resemblance to something made by him, but when you know what to look for, it becomes clear that either a piece is a knockoff or it's just plain not his. I'm going to give you two real-world examples, and a couple of things to look for. 

1) Lobsterware

Three lobster platters with lettuce-green leaves. One is real. Can you tell which is which at a glance?

All three of these came up under a search for Brad Keeler on eBay. Things to look for: Note the colors of the glaze, the detail on both the leaves and the lobsters, and always look for a makers' mark.

Keeler was famous for his "Ming Dragon's Blood" true red glaze, an innovation at the time. Which of those lobsters appears to have the truest red? And while there is some variation with the greens in different buffet service lines, none of them are quite that vivid a green. 

Another distinctive feature is the shape of the lobster. You will typically see more artistic detail. The leaves, too, have a distinctive look to them. They draw the eye inward toward the body of the lobster. Visually, they do not compete with the lobster for the viewer's attention; rather, they are the canvas on which the lobster is artistically placed.

Lastly, always look for a maker's mark. There are rare exceptions, but the lobsterware line will typically have a stamp with or without a number on its backside, and possibly even a sticker. (Stickers are rarer because they fall off over time.) Other things to look for: The tell-tale crazing, e.g. hairline cracks in the glaze. If there are no cracks in the glaze, it is definitely not authentic. 

2) Figural birds

As is with most of Brad Keeler's work, the more detailed the work, the more likely it is to be an authentic Brad Keeler Artwares piece. My grandfather, like his father before him, was a gifted artist and modeler. Again, with a discerning eye, one can pretty easily see the difference between a Keeler bird and a non-Keeler bird.

This past weekend, my husband and I found ourselves in the vicinity of the same antique store where we have had good luck in the past, Victoria's Attic. 

Victoria's Attic is a sprawling antique mall in the Coachella Valley, famous for a mid-century modern aesthetic. A good place to find tchotchkes from my grandfather's era. In the same case where I found the beautiful fish service dish, I spotted a bird. It was/is labeled Brad Keeler, but looking at it through the glass I was 90% certain that it absolutely wasn't. Still, I asked them to open the case so I could inspect it. 

Here is the bird, next to an authentic piece for reference, on the right, one from my mom's collection that I took a photo of yesterday in her kitchen.

The first thing I want to you notice is where the eye goes when you look at these. Like any good artistic composition, the eye is drawn to a focal point, then moves around the piece finally landing back on the focal point.

The piece on the left is kind of a hodge-podge. The eye doesn't know where to go. All of the elements are in competition with one another so it's sort of hard to look at. Look at the branch that the bird is perched on. It's heavy, and the decoration on both the bird and the branch is sloppy. And the color of the branch overpowers the color of the bird.

Now look at the piece on the right. Where does your eye go first? Yes, to the bird. Note the detail on the wing, little scallops like feathers. The tail is delicate. The glaze colors do not compete and instead complement each other. Also, note the birds' eyes: the one on left has a little splotch of paint for an eye; the one on the right has a detailed eye, and if you look closely, you can see there is tiny wedge of white representing where the light is glinting. [Note: My photo is too low-res to see this, but click here and zoom in on this one on eBay--note the tiny "pie slice" of white.] This is a characteristic feature of Keeler birds and most if not all of the figural work. There is also the characteristic crazing to look for.

Once you know what to look for, it's not hard to identify an authentic piece. So how is it that this antiques dealer has his bird marked as Brad Keeler? I checked the base and there is no signature, which is how the typical birds are identified--a signature etched into the un-fired clay itself. 

I offer you this piece of advice: Just because something is identified by a dealer as an authentic Keeler piece, or it says "Brad Keeler" in the description, does not mean that it is. Don't be fooled by imposters or unscrupulous or simply ill-informed dealers. Had the dealer been on-hand at the store on Sunday, I would have given them this quick tutorial.

Alas, I just hope that other dealers who are looking to the internet for identification might happen upon my blog. To anyone out there reading this, I am always happy to look at pictures and give you my assessment--which is not to say that I know everything, but what I know, I'm happy to share.  

A big announcement!

Dear Brad Keeler afficionados,

First, if you haven't already found it, I've created a Facebook Group for anyone interested in either Brad Keeler or Rufus Keeler ceramics, including a member's only room to share buying and selling information.

And: I am writing a book.

Right now I'm at about 13k words toward a first draft. I have page upon page of research. I've conducted interviews with family members and am still working on conducting more. I'm actively seeking out anyone who might have had a connection to any of the potteries where either Rufus or Bradley worked, and/or who are knowledgable about the ceramic arts industry. 

My aim is to develop a well-rounded portrait of who these men were both to their friends and family as well as to their colleagues in the ceramics industry, their contributions to the field of ceramic arts, and to trace the family history that led to today, going back to Rufus' upbringing, the influence of father, his mother, and his half-brother; his career from its beginnings making sewer pipe to his death working for Emsco Refractories; his influence on his eldest son Brad's career in the ceramic arts, Brad's early life, marriage, ascension to success, and then his untimely death at 39 and how that affected his family--including his youngest daughter/my mother, all the way down to me and my sons, one of whom is named after him.

My mom and I have done a few field trips, including to the Garden of Memory and Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn in Glendale, where both Brad and Rufus are interred, as well as Rufus' father, wife, and middle son. We've also been out to the Adamson House again, and to see his youngest son Phil Keeler's widow, Audrey. We also found the house in Laguna Beach in Three Arch Bay where Brad and family lived when he died (It's gated, so I had to talk my way past the guard shack!) as well as a summer place they rented on Pacific Coast Highway. We also took a trip out to San Juan Capistrano and visited the site of the Brad Keeler Artwares factory and the mural that still stands.

I have a road trip up the coast planned to visit all of the important landmarks. Lots more in store. I promise to post more frequent updates from here on out.

So, please stay tuned, get in touch, and take care.