Daniel Rhodes

1911 Born Fort Dodge, Iowa

1989 Died Reno, Nevada

EDUCATION

1929-1933 BS University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

—School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

—Art Students League, New York, New York

1940 Colorado Springs Art Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado

1942 MFA New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, New York

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1947-1973 New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, New York

—University of California, Santa Cruz, California

Daniel Rhodes began his creative career as a painter in the summers of 1932 and 1933 studying with Grant Wood.  He began working with clay in 1940 while at the Colorado Springs Art Center. Throughout Rhodes’ career his vessel forms, bowls, and vases, often included a stem base. 

Rhodes went on to have a long career as a potter and a sculptor. In 1964 he developed a method for building and firing large sculptures by incorporating fiberglass cloth in the clay body of the work. During the 1980s his sculptures focused on the torso and head. 

His time with Grant Wood led to three Work Progress Administration (WPA) commissions to create murals. 

Perhaps Rhodes most important contributions to the ceramics field are the books and articles he wrote and his years as a teacher. Among his students was Lee McKeown.