Ernest A. Batchelder
Ernest A. Batchelder (1875 - 1957), an artist and educator who made Southern California his home in the early 20th century, now enjoys fame as a maker of art tiles.
Batchelder came to Pasadena, California in the early 1900s to teach, and became director of the art department at Throop Polytechnic Institute, the predecessor of the California Institute of Technology.
His life took a turn in 1909 when—behind his house overlooking the Arroyo Seco—he built a kiln and entered the business of creating hand-crafted art tiles. The tiles were hugely popular, and by the 1920s, Batchelder’s tiles could be found in homes and buildings across the United States. Batchelder’s prominence in Southern California's art community included his involvement in the founding of the Pasadena Art Institute and his membership in the Pasadena Society of Artists.
The house that Batchelder built in Pasadena, California, in the early 1900s, and where he set up his first kiln, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The current resident, Dr. Robert Winter, wrote the definitive Batchelder history (Batchelder Tilemaker, Balcony Press (1999) 112 pp, ISBN: 1890449032). Although the house is not open to the public, some Batchelder tiles, stamped with heraldic animals and figures, may be found on the walkway in front of the dwelling.
External links
- Tilenut Batchelder page Good source material on Ernest A. Batchelder, with tile samples
- Throop Polytechnic Institute
- The California Institute of Technology
- The Pasadena Society of Artists
[1] National Register of Historic Places listing for Batchelder House