Estate Find

William Wilhelmi, (b. 1939)

David Starr Chapman (1958-2023)

Ceramic Napkin

1983

We offer a ceramic napkin sculpture crafted in 1983 by the ceramic artists William “Bill” Wilhelmi and David Starr Chapman. The sculpture is glazed in white and hand inscribed on the base with a five pointed Star , ‘83 and W.

The sculpture weighs 1 pound 9.1 ounces and measures 8 1/4” in length and 4” in width with a height of 1 1/2”.

The ceramic sculpture of a folded napkin is presented in very good vintage condition.

Provenance

David Starr Chapman, American (1958-2023)

Raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, David would tell stories of spending his summers at his grandparents home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In 1964 Elizabeth Taylor moved next door when Richard Burton was filming Night of the Iguana and she would make grilled cheese sandwiches for David and his brother. David later studied ceramics under Bill Wilhelmi in the 1970s and collaborated on many pieces with him. David’s artwork included ceramics, sculpture and silk screening. Many of his ceramics were signed with a five point star flanked by D and C.

William Wilhelmi, American (b. 1939)

Modern and Contemporary Post-World War II 1945 - present Ceramics

Exhibition History

2021: “William Wilhelmi: A Crescendo in Clay” Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas

1996: "Twenty-five Year Survey Show," Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas

1989: Emily Edwards Gallery, Southwest Craft Center, San Antonio, Texas

1983: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

1982: Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

1981: Marilyn Butler Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona

1981: Hill's Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

1980: Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

1979: "Contemporary American," South Texas Art Mobile, Corpus Christi, Texas

1978: "20th Century Ornament," Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, New York

1976: Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

1975: "William Wilhelmi: With the Works, Pottery Past & Present at Dos Patos," June 1 - 28, 1975, Dos Patos Gallery, Corpus Christi, Texas

1974: "William Wilhelmi, Potter: an exhibition of consciously beautiful objects," April 10 - 27, 1974, Lee Nordness Galleries, New York, New York

1973: "Happy Birthday Mom: One Man Exhibition by William Wilhelmi," March 9 - April 15, 1973, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas

1973: "Ceramic Conjunction," Glendale, California

1972: The Egg and the Eye (Craft and Folk Art Museum), Los Angeles, California

1971: "15th Texas Crafts Exhibition 1971," Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

1971: "California Design XI," Pasadena Art Museum (Norton Simon Art Museum), Pasadena, California

1969 - 1971: "Young Americans," University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Contemporary Crafts Museum (Museum of Arts & Design), New York, New York

1970: "4th Annual Prints, Drawings, & Crafts Exhibition," The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

1968: "25th Ceramic National," Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York

Collections

Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York

College of San Mateo, San Mateo, California

University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

San Diego State University, San Diego, California

Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, Los Angeles, California

Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California

Work History

1966 - 1969: Teaching Assistant, Ceramics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

1966 - 1967: Research Assistant, Ceramics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Education

1969: M.F.A., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

1967: Summer Ceramics Study, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine

1961: B.A., San Diego State University, San Diego, California

Born

February 4, 1939, Garwin, Iowa