Maija Grotell
She led ceramics at Cranbrook for 28 years, and her glazes helped carry clay into modern architecture.
This artist's work is shown through the museum and artist links on this page while it remains under copyright or awaits a permission-cleared image.
Grotell was born in Helsinki and took over ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1938, after first being turned down because the school preferred a male instructor. She retired in 1966 and died in Pontiac in 1973.
She worked on the wheel, which was uncommon among American potters at the time, and specialized in high-fire glazes. Eero Saarinen used her glazes on the exterior of the General Motors Technical Center.
In 1936 she became the first woman to win a prize in the Ceramic National. Her students included Toshiko Takaezu, Richard DeVore and Howard Kottler. Her work is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts and Cranbrook Art Museum.