Baylor to Honor Artist Harding Black Sept. 19

Baylor University will host a dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, in San Antonio to honor ceramist Harding Black and raise money for the proposed Harding Black Ceramic Research Center.
The dinner, which will be held at the Petroleum Club in the Energy Building in San Antonio, will feature several distinguished guests including Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. and William P. Daley, Distinguished Professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Daley is an internationally known ceramist and was largely responsible for the national recognition of Black's work.
The dinner will be held to honor Black and show Baylor's appreciation for his selecting Baylor to permanently house a large collection of his work. Black, 83, is near retirement and wanted to make sure his collection of research and his own work was available for use by future ceramists conducting glaze research. Black is giving a majority of his collection to Baylor, which will be included in the Harding Black Ceramic Research Center.
The dinner will also be used to raise money for the center, which include the construction of a $5.3 million building on the Baylor campus. The center will also include a library and research area, lecture and conference rooms, and display facilities. Baylor also will establish an endowed chair and several other fellowships for both permanent and visiting faculty.
Black is a master potter and has made immense contributions to 20th century American ceramics. He began his career at age 21 when he set up a studio in a streetcar behind San Antonio's Witte Museum. He began to teach ceramics to children and started a long and prolific career in ceramic glaze technology and research. He has been called "a true ceramic pioneer" and "one of the historical figures in 20th century American ceramics."
Baylor first displayed Black work in 1988 at the Martin Museum of Art, which was one of the earliest exhibits to honor Black.
For more information, contact Melissa Riehl at 755-2561.