Hal Riegger Art for Sale and Sold Prices

b. 1913 - d. 2005

Hal Riegger (1913-2005) was a craftsman, educator and sculptor and the foremost pioneer of Raku Art Pottery in America. He began experimenting with the technique in the 1940s. Riegger earned his B.S. and M.A. degrees at the New York State College of Ceramics and Ohio State University. He taught ceramics, including a 1958 stint at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (Deer Isle, ME), and wrote three books on the subject: Primitive Pottery, 1979, Raku: Art & Technique, 1970, and Electric Kiln Ceramics, 1978. He had a strong interest in Zen studies and maintained a steadfast commitment to a traditional and spiritual involvement with the Raku technique. He used his homebuilt electric kiln to fire his wares and presented Raku through primitive-firing workshops and demonstrations. A 3-part article Riegger wrote and published in Ceramics Monthly in 1965 appears to be the first major writing on the subject, and his book Raku Art & Technique was the first to bring both the history of Raku and instruction to a wide audience.