#  Lecture: Mark Shapiro on the Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter, Thomas W. Commeraw 

 





 Semester:   Spring 

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 Year offered:  2024 

 

 

 

   ![Photo of a 19th century stoneware crock juxtaposed with census records from 1800 and 1810](/sites/g/files/omnuum4081/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/makeart/files/mark_shapiro_commeraw_2.png?itok=EuX1BpFJ) 

 

 **Thursday, February 29, 2024**

 **5:00-6:00pm**

 **Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard**

 **224 Western Ave, Allston, Massachusetts 02134**

 *This in-person lecture is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required.*

 Potter and writer Mark Shapiro will talk about his research and co-curation of the exhibition *Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw*, at the New-York Historical Society (January–May 2023). Commeraw was a master craftsman who made some of the most iconic stoneware in early America. Born enslaved, he rose to prominence as a free Black entrepreneur, owning and operating a successful pottery, though for more than a century his racial identity would be misconstrued in the collection of his work. Over two decades, Commeraw innovated efficient techniques to decorate and brand his work, while amassing property, engaging in debates over state and national politics, and advocating for the rights of New York City’s free Black community. His decision to emigrate with his family to Africa in 1820 brings into focus the diminishing horizon of freedom for Black people in the north during the second decade of the 19th century. Mark will also talk about the relationship of his research projects to his own studio practice.

 [Register](https://ofadap.fas.harvard.edu/ords/ofa/r/office-for-the-arts/login)

##  Speaker bio

 Mark Shapiro has taught numerous workshops nationally and internationally and mentored a number of accomplished apprentices at his [Stonepool Pottery](http://stonepoolpottery.com/). His work is included in many public collections. He edited *A Chosen Path: The Ceramic Art of Karen Karnes* (UNCP 2010) and has published dozens of articles, reviews, and interviews. A 2019 Smithsonian Artist Resident Fellow and two-time Center for Craft Research Fund recipient (2008, 2021), he co-curated *Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw* at the New-York Historical Society (2023). He is on the board of the American Ceramic Circle and an advisor to *Studio Potter* and *Ceramics in America* journals. He is currently a Smithsonian National Museum of American History Research Associate.

 ![Mark Shapiro; a jug and oyster jars by Thomas Commeraw.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4081/files/makeart/files/sp24_mark_shapiro_commeraw.png)

 

I*images, top: Commeraw listed as Black in 1800 and 1810 US Census; bottom: Mark Shapiro, photo: Carol Lollis; Thomas W..Commeraw Jug, collection of Joe Gromaki; Oyster jars for Daniel Johnson by Thomas W. Commeraw, collection of Chris Pickerell.*