Vintage John Prip for Reed and Barton Silverplate Modernist Dish

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John Prip silver plate elegant modern dish for Reed and Barton.
Excellent condition no scratches to the surface.
John Prip … Read more John Prip silver plate elegant modern dish for Reed and Barton.
Excellent condition no scratches to the surface.
John Prip was born in New York of a Danish father and an American mother. As a child, he moved to Denmark with his family, where his father ran a silversmithing factory that had been his grandfather's. At 15, Prip began an apprenticeship while attending high school. The next five years were spent polishing stakes, sweeping up, and laboriously reproducing classical renderings. The experience taught diligence and a deeply rooted technical skill, but simultaneously imposed a restricted aesthetic. In a way it was the unlearning of these traditional forms and procedures that pushed the young silversmith into bold experiments and motivated the innovations that distinguished his career.
In 1948, Prip returned to the United States with his wife, Karen, and infant son, Peter. He came over on the same boat with a woodworker named Tage Frid, who was to become a lifelong colleague and friend. They had both been invited to teach at a new school in Alfred, New York, called the School for American Craftsmen. At the time, there were few places to study and limited knowledge of metalsmithing techniques in the United States. Prip's position was unique: his Danish training provided him with firm technical grounding, while his American environment encouraged the attitude of exploration and innovation that became a hallmark of his career.
When the school moved to the Rochester Institute of Technology two years later, Jack and his family, which now included daughter Janet, moved along with it. It was during this time in the early '50s that Prip and the crafts movement were eagerly searching for their own style. Along with Frans Wildenhain, Tage Frid, Ronald Pearson, and others, Prip established a gallery in Rochester called Shop One. This gallery was a unique institution in its time, providing not only a business venture originated and managed by craftsmen, but also a forum for the presentation of top quality avant-garde craftwork. Its mission was to educate the public to the special beauty of handmade objects.
In 1957, after three years with Shop One, Prip again felt the need to move on. Through some fortunate connections he was hired by Reed and Barton Company, a holloware and flatware manufacturer in Massachusetts. The title invented for the role he conceived was Artist-Craftsman-Residence. He was given a workspace, materials, and access to the 900-worker factory. It was understood that Prip had a responsibility to address himself to work that might eventually profit the company, but beyond that guidance no restrictions were imposed. Prip was to stay at Reed and Barton for three years. One indication of his success there is the fact that 20 years later several of his designs are still in production.
Prip returned to teaching at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and after three years went to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he would teach until 1981. See less