Background
Grotell was born in Helsinki, Finland, and emigrated to New York in 1927.
Grotell was born in Helsinki, Finland, and emigrated to New York in 1927.
After arriving in New York she studied at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.
She is sometimes described as the “mother of American ceramics”. Grotell retired from Cranbrook in 1966. She died on December 6, 1973, in Pontiac, Michigan.
Grotell was considered to be an innovative and gifted teacher, and was known for her experiments in glaze technology.
Indeed, at the request of Saarinen, she developed the glaze that was used on the ceramic exterior walls at the General Motors Technical Center. During her career she had solo shows at (among others) the Art Institute of Chicago (1950), the Cranbrook Museum (1952), the Joe and Emily Lowe Art Center of Syracuse University, and the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (1967).
Maija Grotell: Works Which Grow From Belief, by Jeff Schlanger and Toshiko Takaezu (1996)
Ceramics Today Featured Artist
Studio Potter Magazine Book Review.