Elizabeth "Betty" Woodman (Abrahams) (1930 – 2018) was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, to Minnie and Henry Abrahams. Her parents were progressive socialists and her mother promoted a feminist viewpoint. During seventh grade, stifled by the home economics courses young women were relegated to, she successfully fought her way into a wood shop class, wherein she learned to use a lathe. Betty started pottery classes at age 16 and immediately took to clay. She attended the School for American Craftsmen at Alfred University in New York from 1948 until 1950.
Woodman began her career in the 1950s as a production potter. Her career moved from functional pottery to fresh and exuberant art culminating in a retrospective show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2006, the first such retrospective for a living, female ceramicist, and a solo show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 2016 with the title Theatre of the Domestic. She was a professor of art at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1978-1998. Following her daughter's death in 1981, Woodman's work subsequently shifted, evolving from functional pottery to the more abstract, thus transforming her career. She received an honorary doctorate from CU in 2007. Woodman convinced city of Boulder officials in the 1950s to fund the Pottery Lab, making it one of the first recreational pottery programs in the U.S. Her vision was to have students make pottery for fun but also develop their craft into a career. The Pottery Lab's creation resulted in around 100 kilns being constructed in the Boulder area.
Betty Woodman met George Woodman in a pottery class she was teaching in Boston in 1950. They married in 1953. George Woodman was a painter and photographer. He headed the University of Colorado Boulder art department. He died in March 2017. Betty and George Woodman had two children. Their daughter, Francesa Woodman, was an acclaimed photographer who took her life in 1981 at age 22. Their son, Charles Woodman, is an artist.
© 2020. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Elizabeth Woodman or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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Ms. Betty Woodman
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"Etruscan" Vase, 1966
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Early basket, Tang-style glaze, New York, 1970s
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Persimmon Pillow Pitcher, 1980
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Teacup and Saucer, 1980
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Two Vases, 1980s
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Two-handled vase with polka dots, New York, 1980s
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Vase, 1980
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Bowl, 1980s
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Italian Vase, 1982
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Pillow Pitcher, 1983
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Striped Napkin Holder, 1983
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Cretan, 1986
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Mewar Memories, 1988
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Kimono Vases: Evening, 1990
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Untitled sculpture (vase on wall bracket), 1990
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Balustrade Relief Vase #13, 1995
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House of the South, 1996
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The Portuguese in Japan, 2000
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Palm Leaf Pillow Pitcher, 2000
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Aeolian Pyramid, 2001-06
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Table and Vases, 2006
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Tables and vases, 2006
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Balustrade Relief Vase 07-4, 2007
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Aztec Vase 8, 2008
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Roman Girls, 2008
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Winged Figure: cubist, 2009
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Grey Diptych, 2010
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Roman Fresco: Pleasures and Places, 2010
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Spring in Athens, 2011
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Polka Dot, 2012
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Amphora and Garden, 2012-13
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The Red Table, 2014
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Aztec Vase and Carpet #8, 2015
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The Summer House, 2015
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Sculptural vegetable soup tureen and charger, USA, late 20th Century
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