Vintage Pottery Tile Nude Illustration in Striped Frame Attributed to Bonnie MacLeary, Circa 1930s-40s. Rare in size and execution, this hand-made glazed tile is fashioned from red clay with a central nude figure filling the space. The delicate, feminine line quality and hues of the glazed illustration are perfectly juxtaposed with the graphic frame. The original, laminated wood frame is hand-painted gold, seafoam green and bronze in a thick, striped pattern. Signed “B” in the center of the tile en verso.

We believe this to be a rare early example of her work in pottery. Later 1940s glazed commercial tile examples on the market often depict nude figures and signs of the Zodiac.

Bonnie MacLeary was a San Antonio, Texas born sculptor best known for her "Aspiration" and "Ouch" bronzes from the 1920s. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and she was subsequently raised in the Austin home of her grandparents, Helen and Valentine Overton King. In 1901, the pair took her to New York City, where she studied at the William Merritt Chase School of Art. By 1903 they were in Paris, France, where Bonnie studied at the Académie Julien and then in Siena, Italy she studied miniature painting before retuning to New York. The showing of two of her sculptures at the National Academy of Design in 1921 marked the beginning of MacLeary's career. In 1924 her sculpture Aspiration was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. MacLeary's most popular works were statues of women and children, some of which became so successful that she crafted small versions to be sold in stores. By the 1940s on, MacLeary focused on smaller ceramic pieces.

Condition: Excellent vintage condition, tile is in perfection condition with only minor abrasion to the corners of the wood frame (as pictured).

Specs: 11" H | 11" W | 1 1/8" D | 6 3/8" W/ 6 1/4" H of Tile

**Bonnie MacLeary standing beside "Fledglings" photograph / (photographed by Peter A. Juley & Son) courtesy of Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery