Danish Ceramic Artist Spotlight: Fanny Garde & Effie Hegermann-Lindencrone

Fanny Gardy and Effie Hagerman-Lyndon Crone are two of the most important artists from the Art Nouveau period. The two women met while at the Arts and Crafts School for Women, forming a close bond that would remain for their entire lives, from living together to sharing a studio. In 1886, they were hired by Bengen Grundahl's new artistic director Pietro Crone to direct the new Heron service that was being put into production. This launched the production of Underglaze at the as well as their careers. Fanny Gardy was central to the design and production of the Seagull service set, released in 1895 and in production until 1997. For me, however, it is their unique pieces that truly showcase their artistic ability and their vision. They were both known for their works featuring carved relief and open work, usually with motifs drawn directly from nature. Today, modern versions of openwork pieces like the Flora Danica Ice Dome are mostly created through molds and then touched up by hand. However, the two artists work directly with throwers at the factory to create pieces according to their specifications. Once the basic form dread to what we call a leather-hard state, the process of hand carving could begin. Using a variety of tools, they cut, filed, and smoothed to create relief and open work and added hand model decoration. If you've never tried carving leather-hard clay before, it's a bit like clay jenga because the smallest mistake can be fatal for the piece. You can easily compromise the structural stability of the work if you cut a hole too big or in the wrong spot. After this initial carving and relief work phase, the pieces were then fired. Then Fanny and Effie began the painting process using a brush to carefully render the natural tones. They often would rub off glaze or add extra layers to create shading effects and utilize the natural luminous effects of the underlying white porcelain. Once completed, the pieces were dipped in a clear glaze that would give the piece its shiny finished look. It is estimated that a single piece by them could take anywhere from 60 to 210 hours to complete. There were other women who worked as artists at Bing and Grundahl whose names we do know, like Harriet Bing and Elizabeth Drewes-Kofod, and many more whose names are unfortunately lost to us. None, however, were able to achieve the level of fame and international recognition that Fanny and Effie achieved during their lifetime. This is all the more unique as it was taking place at a time when women in Denmark were denied the right to vote, which was only granted in 1915, and were excluded from many professions. To this day, their works remain highly sought after for their level of detail and finesse.