Porter Blanchard
Encyclopedia
Porter Blanchard was an American silversmith
living and working in Pacoima, California
in the United States
. He is considered to be part of the Arts and Crafts Movement
. His daughter, Alice, married Lewis Wise who conducted business as Porter Blanchard Silversmiths (Calabasas, California). After 1955, all of Porter Blanchard flatware was made at the Calabasas shop, while the holloware was made at his Pacoima home. Many of his papers including photographs of his shop are collected in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution
. His daughter, Becca, married Allan Adler
, born 1916 of Los Angeles
, who continued designing as a silversmith in that tradition.
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
living and working in Pacoima, California
Pacoima, Los Angeles, California
Pacoima is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.It is bordered by the Los Angeles districts of Mission Hills on the west, Arleta on the south, Sun Valley on the southeast, Lake View Terrace on the northeast, and by the city of San Fernando on the north...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is considered to be part of the Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
. His daughter, Alice, married Lewis Wise who conducted business as Porter Blanchard Silversmiths (Calabasas, California). After 1955, all of Porter Blanchard flatware was made at the Calabasas shop, while the holloware was made at his Pacoima home. Many of his papers including photographs of his shop are collected in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. His daughter, Becca, married Allan Adler
Allan Adler
Allan Adler was an American silversmith.Beginning his career as an apprentice in 1938, Adler designed silverware and holloware in shapes inspired by the Modernist art movement of the early 1900s....
, born 1916 of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, who continued designing as a silversmith in that tradition.
Further reading
- The Story of Sterling, Sterling Silversmiths Guild of America, 1937, 54 pages
- The Arts and Crafts Movement in California - Living the Good Life, ed. by Kenneth R. Trapp for the Oakland Museum, 1993, Abbeville Press, ISBN 1-55859-493-0
- The Renaissance of an Ancient Art, L. Stanley Grohs, A sale catalog of hand-wrought silver and pewter crafted by Porter Blanchard which were offered for sale in 1930 by S. G. Gump and Company of San Francisco, limited edition, 21 pages. In 2002 one copy of this book was available on the internet for $20.