William Grueby founded Grueby Pottery in 1897, although he had been producing pottery since 1894. He was a practicing ceramist and was inspired by the matte glazes that he saw on display during an exhibition in Chicago in 1893. This inspired him to start up his own business in Boston.
The Grueby art potteries were introduced in 1898. Their styles were mostly conventional, natural forms on which hand sculptured designs were carved or placed. They were usually glazed matte green, and this became its most famous color. Grueby also was successful with other colors, such as aqua, pink and yellow. In addition to many other awards and honors, his works won two gold medals and a silver medal at the Paris Exposition in 1900.
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By 1905 Grueby pottery pieces were available in Tiffany studios, New York. In 1909, Grueby had financial problems and ran into bankruptcy. His years of operation were relatively short, but his works are among the most famous and are available in a lot of art pottery museums.
In June 1999, a Tiffany lamp paired with a Grueby ceramic vase sold for $286,000 at an auction. A lot of look-alikes at lower prices are available as his works has been copied and mass produced.
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