{{Short description|American artist (1870–1949)}} {{Infobox person | name = Sara Sax | image = Sara Sax Uncommon Clay.jpg | caption = Sara Sax (1925) decorating a vase | other_names = Sarah Sax | birth_date = November 1, 1870 | birth_place = Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | death_date = {{Death date and age|1949|09|09|1870|11|01}} | death_place = Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | occupation = Decorative artist, designer | known_for = Pottery, vellum plaque paintings | movement = Arts and Crafts movement,<br /> Art Nouveau }} '''Sara Sax''' (1870 – 1949) was an American decorative artist and designer, known for her work in ceramics, and scenic landscape paintings on vellum.<ref name="Potpourri">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qlVQAAAAMAAJ |title=Rookwood Pottery Potpourri |date=1980 |publisher=C. R. Leonard and D. Coleman |isbn=978-0-9603818-0-7 |pages=40 |language=en |via=Google Books}}</ref> She was one of the staff at the Rookwood Pottery Company of Cincinnati.<ref name="BatchelorBob">{{Cite book |last=Batchelor |first=Bob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20YAEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104 |title=Rookwood: The Rediscovery and Revival of an American Icon--An Illustrated History |date=September 2020 |publisher=Quarto Publishing Group USA |isbn=978-1-63159-863-0 |pages=124, 104 |language=en |via=Google Books}}</ref> Sax was acclaimed for her hand painted floral and peacock feather motifs on ceramics, and her mastery of glazing.<ref name="BatchelorBob" /> She also went by '''Sarah Sax'''.
== Biography == Sara Sax was born November 1, 1870, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was the daughter of Selina (née Harris) and Moritz Sax.<ref name="Potpourri" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Haverstock |first=Mary Sayre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdICm_W8xKwC&pg=PA755 |title=Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900: A Biographical Dictionary |last2=Vance |first2=Jeannette Mahoney |last3=Meggitt |first3=Brian L. |date=2000 |publisher=Kent State University Press |isbn=978-0-87338-616-6 |pages=755 |language=en}}</ref>
She was part of the staff at Rookwood Pottery Company of Cincinnati, from 1896 to 1931.<ref name="BatchelorBob" /> Sax was on the forefront of the Arts and Crafts movement, and her contributions elevated the standing of Rookwood Pottery.<ref name="BatchelorBob" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sara Sax Biography |url=https://www.askart.com/artist/Sara_Sax/10047427/Sara_Sax.aspx |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=AskArt.com}}</ref> Her use of the glaze French Red was of particular note, and was used almost exclusively by Sax.<ref name="BatchelorBob" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=Anita J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5LQtwAACAAJ |title=Rookwood Pottery: The Glorious Gamble |date=1992 |publisher=Cincinnati Art Museum |isbn=978-0-8478-1603-3 |pages=125, 148–149 |language=en}}</ref> She was constantly working with the latest glazes and technology.<ref name=":0" /> Sax was an early user of the translucent vellum glaze, and experimented with combining the vellum glaze with relief carved slip decorations.<ref name=":0" />
Sax's work has been part of exhibitions, including the Clark Art Institute (1993) in Williamstown, Massachusetts;<ref>{{Cite news |date=1993-08-22 |title=Exhibit traces Rookwood Pottery's glory days |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republican-exhibit-traces-rookwood-p/150660332/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=The Republican |pages=108 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and the Kansas City Jewish Museum (2002) in Leawood, Kansas.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-03-29 |title=Industrious Art, Women Designers Celebrated in Exhibition of Art Pottery |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-industrious-art-wo/150660588/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=The Kansas City Star |pages=163 |via=Newspaper.com}}</ref>
Her pottery work can be found in public collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Designed by Sara Sax, Vase with poppies |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/718129 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref> the Philadelphia Museum of Art;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vase |url=https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/58821 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Philadelphia Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref> the Cincinnati Art Museum;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vase |url=https://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/explore-the-collection?id=11997367 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Cincinnati Art Museum |language=en}}</ref> the Indianapolis Museum of Art;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vase 1904 |url=https://collections.discovernewfields.org/art/artwork/27356 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=The Indianapolis Museum of Art Collection |language=en}}</ref> and the Art Institute of Chicago.<ref>{{Citation |last=Sax |first=Sara |title=Vase |date=1926 |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/57576/vase |access-date=2024-07-04 |publisher=Art Institute of Chicago}}</ref>
<gallery widths="180" heights="150" perrow="4" caption="Selected works by Sax"> File:Vase, Rookwood Pottery Company, Sara Sax decorator, 1908, stoneware, Vellum glaze line - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC04523.JPG|alt= File:Sara sax per rookwood pottery, vaso, cincinnati OH 1910.jpg|alt= File:Vase (USA), 1900 (CH 18444207-2).jpg|alt= </gallery>
== See also == * Kataro Shirayamadani
== References == {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}
{{Rookwood Pottery}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sax, Sara}} Category:1870 births Category:1949 deaths Category:19th-century American women artists Category:20th-century American women artists Category:American potters Category:Artists from Cincinnati Category:Arts and Crafts movement artists Category:Art Nouveau artists Category:Rookwood Pottery Company