California Art Tile

California Art Tiles are ornamental tiles produced in California late 19th and early 20th centuries. Numerous businesses, including Taylor Tilery, D & M Tile Company, Gladding McBean and Company, Batchelder Tile Company, Pacific Clay Products, Malibu Potteries, Catalina Pottery, and Hispano-Moresque Tiles, were involved in their production. These art tiles were used in homes, companies, and public structures, and adorned hearths, fireplaces, kitchens, and bathrooms.

History

The origin of art tiles in California can be traced back to the mission period in the 18th century. During this time, Native Americans, under Spanish supervision, decorated the floor tiles of Mission San Antonio with various motifs. Later, during the Arts and Crafts Movement in the late 19th and early 20th century, the aesthetic of Henry Chapman Mercer's Moravian tiles, which were inspired by medieval tiles, had a significant influence on the art tile industry.

Studios like Batchelder Tile Company, founded in 1909, and Malibu Potteries in 1926, also played a crucial role in growth of art tile industry. Ernest Batchelder's company, with its elegant matte-glazed tiles, became widely popular. Ernest Batchelder's company, with its elegant matte-glazed tiles, became widely popular. In the 1920s, there was a growing interest in Spanish Revival, leading to a higher demand for art tiles. After World War II, the California art tile business fell, but in recent years, interest has grown again. These days, art tiles are available online, at some tile producers, and at antique stores.

Styles of Art Tiles

1. Cuerda Seca Tiles: These tiles are made using cuerda seca technique to keep the water-soluble glazes in their designated places and keep them from leaking out. This technique uses tiny lines of a greasy substance to divide the glazes on the surface. Typically, the grease is combined with a dark pigment, such as manganese carbonate, to create a dark border around each colored spot.
2. Malibu Tiles: Malibu tile was inspired by the tiles made at the Malibu Potteries in Malibu, California, in the latter part of the 1920s. These tiles have brilliant, contrasting glaze colours and frequently use geometric designs. The Adamson House in Malibu, California, today known as the Malibu Lagoon Museum, is home to the biggest and most diverse collection of art tiles produced by Malibu Potteries.
3. Batchelder Tiles: Ernest Batchelder was a well-known artist of Southern California as well as a leader in the American Arts and Crafts movement. He constructed a kiln at his Pasadena home in 1909 and started making hand-crafted art tiles, which quickly gained enormous popularity. Batchelfer's tiles were renowned for their matte-glazed finish and often feature earthy tones and simple, geometric patterns.
4. Art Deco Tiles: Art Deco is a French style of of product design, architecture, and visual arts. It was introduced in Paris in the 1910s, before World War I. From the 1920s to the early 1930s, it was quite popular in both Europe and the United States. Bridges, buildings, ships, ocean liners, railroads, automobiles, trucks, buses, furniture, and commonplace items like radios and vacuum cleaners have all been impacted by Art Deco design.
5. Goodhue's tiles: Goodhue's tiles are known for their bright colors and geometric designs, ideal for Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. These tiles, initiated by architect Bertram Goodhue for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, draw influence from Mexico, Moorish Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East. Walter Nordhoff and his son Charles produced them, and you can see a stunning example in the California Building's wainscot at Balboa Park.
6. Hand-Painted Catalina Tiles: Catalina Island produced hand-painted tiles. These frequently displayed the island's natural beauty, vegetation, and wildlife. These tiles were frequently utilized in architectural projects and had a rustic character.
7. Mosaic Tiles: A mosaic is a design or image created from tiny, irregular, or regular pieces of coloured stone, glass, or ceramic that are applied to a surface and secured in place with mortar or plaster. Mosaics were especially common throughout the Roman Empire and were frequently employed as wall and floor decorations.
8. Relief Tiles: In relief tiles, the sculpted elements are fixed to a solid background made of the same material. Creating a sculpture in relief involves making the sculpted material appear raised above the background plane

Today, these tiles have become a defining feature of California architecture, and adorn various homes and public buildings. These unique styles continue to inspire and are recognized as iconic Californian elements.

Some Iconic Californian Architecture Featuring Art Tiles

If you wish to learn more about Californian Art Tiles and experience their beauty with your own eyes, you must visit these places.

1. 1855 & 1863 Altamira Place, Mission Hills

Richard M. Hathaway built the Mission Revival-style homes at 1855 and 1863 Altamira Place in Mission Hills in 1925. The larger home, commonly known as La Casa de Las Siete Candelas or the Richard M. & Laura M. Hathaway/Charles T. Leigh House, contains more interior architectural detail. Both homes feature fireplaces from the Batchelder-Wilson Company of Los Angeles.

The modest fireplace at 1855 Altamira Place resembles, but is not identical to, No. 263 in a 1923 Batchelder catalog with its rich brown "fire frame" and hood. It features a tiled hearth and a tile shelf above the firebox that resembles a mantle, demonstrating the variety of types the company offers.

2. 2806 Gregory Street, North Park

This Spanish Colonial Revival-style house from the 1920s has a unique interior with two kinds of tiles. Main focus of the living area is a fireplace made by Art Deco Claycraft Potteries, known as Design No. 3001. In contrast to the picturesque landscapes usually associated with Claycraft, this distinctive fireplace features diagonal tiles, mitered arch tiles, ornamental arch tiles, and rectangular tiles of various sizes.

Between 1921 and 1939, Claycraft, based in Los Angeles and founded by Fred and George Robertson, produced around 500 different design tiles. In 1934, the Robertsons left Claycraft to establish Robertson Pottery. Yellow Hermosa tiles with black accents are in the kitchen, while lavender and black Hermosa tiles adorn the bathroom's countertops, wainscot, and floor. The Claycraft fireplace complements the vibrant Hermosa tiles, adding to the historic residence's unique and sophisticated ambiance.

3. 1263 Myrtle Avenue, Marston Hills

With a full-length front arcade with repeating arches, short, thick columns, big, curved brackets, and an attic vent dormer, this 1922 Mission Revival bungalow has a unique appearance. The interior and back patio are adorned with historic tiles, notably crafted by the American Encaustic Tiling Company (A.E.T. Co. Ltd.), which had acquired the West Coast Tile Company in Vernon, near Los Angeles. The kitchen and bathroom highlight exquisite tile work, with the kitchen displaying pale yellow tiles with blue accents and the bathroom featuring dominant pink and turquoise hues.

4. California Building, & Santa Fe Depot

The California Building in Balboa Park and the Santa Fe Railway Depot, two famous San Diego buildings, include outstanding tile work by California China Products (CCPCo). Designed by Bertram Goodhue, the California Building, a standout at the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, features CCPCo's tiles adorning its 180-foot tower and sixty-foot high dome, adorned with glorious compass rose designs. The 1914-1915 Santa Fe Railway Depot in downtown San Diego, created by Bakewell and Brown, features amazing Hispano-Moresque tile displays by CCPCo. The domed towers, entry arch, walls, and the impressive waiting room are embellished with the distinctive and intricate tile craftsmanship, adding to the architectural distinction of this historic structure.

5. County Administration Center

Architects Samuel W. Hamill, Louis Gill, Richard Requa, and William Templeton Johnson created the County Administration Center, a WPA-funded structure that was the last major initiative of community leader George Marston. Dedicated on San Diego's birthday, July 16, 1938, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in attendance, the center reflects Marston's commitment to the City Beautiful Movement. Situated on the harbor-front, its design integrates elements of Spanish Colonial Revival, influenced by Balboa Park, with Beaux Arts and touches of WPA Moderne and ZigZag Moderne.

It is built with poured concrete, and features red tile roofs, glazed pottery tiles, and arched door and window openings. This design pays homage to San Diego's government with rich symbolism and detailing. The ten-foot tower above the entrance, as well as the arches surrounding doors and windows, are adorned with decorative tile believed to be from Gladding, McBean at Tropico Potteries, contributing to the architectural splendor of this landmark.

Conclusion

California Art Tiles are ornamental tiles produced in California late 19th and early 20th century. After World War II, the California art tile business fell, but in recent years, interest has grown again. These days, art tiles are available online, at some tile producers, and antique stores. Art tiles are defining features of California architecture, and adorn various homes and public buildings. These unique styles continue to inspire and are recognized as iconic Californian elements.