Creator Record
Metadata
Name |
Negatha Peterson |
Other names |
Negatha Ruth Peterson |
Dates & places of birth and death |
b. December 20, 1920 - Lego, West Virginia d. September 15, 2013 - Erwin, Tennessee |
Nationality |
American |
Occupation |
The following biographical excerpt was submitted by a Reece Museum volunteer in December 2024: "Negatha Peterson was born December 20, 1920 in Lego, West Virginia. She was the daughter of Oscar Webb and Birdie Calhoun. In 1941, Negatha was hired by Southern Potteries in Erwin, Tennessee as one of about 500 employees who worked the assembly line, each hand painting strokes on the dishware. The majority of the painters were women. At one point during the 1940s they earned 13.5 cents per hour. In a Kingsport Times article in 1991 when she was age 70, Negatha said, "They gave me a brush and I practiced one day and went to work the next." She started out painting stems and leaves but her skills led to her becoming a well-known artist. In 1916, the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railroad selected Erwin as the site for a pottery to encourage industry that would ultimately benefit the railroad. Initially the pottery was called Clinchfield Ware. It eventually became known as Southern Potteries Inc. in 1920. Southern Potteries made "Clinchfield" china from 1917-1937 and "Blue Ridge" china became their signature product from 1937-1957. Southern Potteries produced some 5,000 different painted designs featuring flora, fauna, mountain scenes and people. The commercial production of china in Erwin began in 1917, in which Clinchfield employed about 100 people. Decals were utilized initially, but beginning in 1938 the bisque was hand painted before it was glazed. Southern Potteries Inc. became one of the largest producers of china in the United States in the 1940s and by the middle of that decade annual production was estimated at 17 million pieces. Southern Potteries had over 1,000 employees at that time, about one half were painters. Their eleven showrooms in the United States, including those in New York and San Francisco, helped boost their sales, as did retailers such as Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Ward. Retailers such as those sold the china in-store and through mail order. Blue Ridge china was offered by some retail outlets as premiums. Due to foreign competition, namely from Japan, by 1956, their work force was down to about 600. When Southern Potteries closed in 1957, Negatha said its effects were devastating to the small town of Erwin. For a while Negatha worked for Cash Pottery, also in Erwin, and while there she incorporated the French Peasant design into her painting. Those pieces became highly sought after. When Southern Potteries closed she purchased a large number of their molds. In 1960 she and her husband Robert Earl Peterson (Earl) founded Erwin Pottery. Earl had worked at Southern Potteries for two years in the early 1940s but didn't like it. In their own pottery business, Earl poured the pottery and Negatha painted it; head vases, dinnerware, pitchers etc. They turned out her versions of Blue Ridge china and for a time in the 1980s she painted reproductions of some of the Blue Ridge patterns, labeling the pieces as such. The business did well and they began receiving orders from across the country. Negatha is featured in several nationally-known books written about cookie jars. She was the full-time painter, but the Worthpoint.com website lists a Colonial Lady jug with the initials "EP," indicating her husband Earl was the artist for that piece. Joey Lewis, a Blue Ridge pottery collector speaking to the Erwin Record in 2024 said that Southern Potteries was the second largest employer in Erwin; the railroad was the largest. He indicated that the pottery had their own post office which employed 16 people, and their most popular line was the French Peasant pattern, carried exclusively by Macy's and Marshall Field. Negatha said she owes the "jump start" of her career to the Blue Ridge designs and her ability to find an approach for using them. But, she and she alone took credit for her excellent, precise painting. Negatha and Earl ran their two-person business until Earl became ill after which she completed the unpainted pieces remaining in inventory. Earl passed in 2005, the same year Erwin Pottery went out of business. Mr. and Mrs. Gary Smith purchased the Erwin Pottery name, assets, back stamps, and a large number of molds, some of which were original to Cash Family Pottery. Mr. Smith said "no one will ever paint like Negatha." Negatha Peterson died on September 15, 2013 at age 92." |
Notes |
Sources: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117172395/negatha_ruth-peterson https://www.antiquemaster.com/erwinpottery.php https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/orig-erwin-pottery-earl-colonial-lady-153648373 southernpotteries.com https://www.valleyfuneralhome.net/obituaries/Negatha-Peterson/obituary The following were accessed through Newspapers.com: Johnson City Press, November 1, 1983 Johnson City Press, July 7, 1991 Johnson City Press, June 28, 1992 Kingsport Times, August 18, 1991 Elizabethton Star, June 9, 1991 Erwin Record, July 31, 2019 Erwin Record, October 9, 2024 |
Relationships |
father: Oscar Webb mother: Birdie Calhoun husband: Robert Earl Peterson |
Places of residence |
Lego, West Virginia Erwin, Tennessee |
Role |
Artist |
Titles & Honors |
Painter, Southern Potteries Inc., Erwin, Tennessee (1941-1957) Founder, Erwin Pottery, Erwin, Tennessee (1960-2005) |
Related Records
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2023.027.011 - Pitcher
This is one of two lady pitchers, or "Blue Ridge Betsy Jugs," designed by Negatha Peterson. This pitcher depicts a feminine figure wearing a pink collar and a ribbon around her neck. The figure is holding yellow and pink flowers. She is also wearing a pink apron with yellow and pink tulips along the bottom. Her headdress features blue and pink tulips. The bottom corner of the apron is signed "N.P." There is a stamp at the bottom of the pitcher...
Record Type: Object
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2023.027.012 - Pitcher
This is one of two lady pitchers, or "Blue Ridge Betsy Jugs." This jug contains blue and pink details. The feminine figure is wearing a blue collar and a ribbon around her neck. She is holding blue and pink flowers. She is also wearing a blue apron with blue and pink tulips on the bottom. Her headdress features blue and pink tulips. The bottom corner of the apron is signed "N.P." There is a stamp at the bottom of the pitcher that reads: "hand...
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2023.027.013 - Kettle
This is a large, white tea kettle. It is painted with a floral pattern of mostly pink and yellow flowers and green leaves. The tea kettle features a small lid with a similar pattern of three pink flowers and green leaves. There are small blue flowers and a yellow flower on the lid. There is writing in black on the bottom of the teapot that reads: "Original Blue Ridge Pattern SPI Erwin Pottery." The painted design of this kettle is attributed ...
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2023.027.014 - Kettle
This white tea kettle is painted with a floral pattern that features pink and yellow flowers and green leaves. The teapot comes with a small lid that is painted with a similar design featuring three pink flowers and green leaves. The lid's pattern contains small blue flowers and one yellow flower. There is text in black on the bottom of the tea kettle that reads: "Original Blue Ridge Pattern; Erwin Pottery." The painted design of this kettle is a...
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2023.027.015 - Pitcher
This is a miniature pitcher (possibly a cream pitcher). It is mostly white and painted with a floral pattern featuring pink and red flowers with green leaves. There is a stamp on the bottom: "Original Blue Ridge Pattern Erwin Pottery." The painted design of this pitcher is attributed to Negatha Peterson. Negatha Peterson was an artist employed by Southern Potteries. She became known for her Blue Ridge Pottery designs, primarily after their cl...
Record Type: Object
