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Tony Hill (1908-1975) grew up in St. Joseph, Kansas. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. William A. Hill. His father was the head waiter at a local hotel, along with being the editor and publisher of a newspaper called The Protest. Tony received a degree in social work from the University of Kansas at Lawrence and the Graduate School at University of Chicago. He worked as a case worker at United Charities. He took a four month trip to Europe, visited galleries, and studied craft and art in Sweden. He returned to the US and worked as a social worker in Albany. In 1940, he married actress Frances Williams. After moving up the ranks as a social worker, he abruptly quit after being passed up for a promotion because the U.S. Social Security Board board “didn't think the country was ready for a Negro representative in a branch office.”
His wife Frances wanted to move to Los Angeles for her acting career and in 1942 that happened. During the war Tony was employed as a turret lathe operator at an aircraft plant in Los Angeles. Then, one evening Tony happened upon a night class Glen Lukens was teaching to “housewives and war workers” at the Pueblo at the Del Rio housing project (Paul Revere Williams and Richard Neutra helped design the layout of Pueblo Del Rio). Tony was instantly inspired by the potential ceramics had to offer and was the first black student enrolled in ceramics classes at USC under Lukens. It was Lukens who encouraged Hill to start his lamp business.
Tony was instantly inspired by the potential ceramics had to offer and was the first black student enrolled in ceramics classes at USC under Lukens. It was Lukens who encouraged Hill to start his lamp business.
In 1944 Hill co-founded a studio in Los Angeles on South Arlington Ave (with Wilmer James, also a Lukens student). According to a 1946 Ebony article, Tony tried to rent a store and “Security First National Bank wouldn't rent to a Negro.” A white friend rented the store for him. Tony then bought the equipment and a studio was born. Later they moved to Jefferson Boulevard and were in business together until at least 1949. Wilmer moved to Japan with her husband in 1950. It was about then when her name stopped appearing jointly with Hill on the ads for their studio on West Jefferson. In 1963 Tony opened a showroom on Beverly Blvd but kept producing the work on West Jefferson.
An article in Ebony magazine declared Hill as one of the top five ceramicists on the west coast. It also mentions that he had exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA) and a number of galleries. Hill said his first big sale ($400) was to Gump’s in San Francisco. Gump’s also launched the commercial success of fellow ceramicist Edith Heath. Hill's work was distributed internationally. It was sold to top directors and available in stores like Kneedler-Fauchere, Robert Barber, and Barker Brothers—outlets which should be familiar with those deep into the modern retail scene of the day. In addition, this list (below) from a 1950 article notes that Wilmer-Hill work was available at “…all the exclusive stores up and down the West Coast: Barker Brothers, J.W. Robinson's,three Bullock stores, Parmalee Dohrman's, Wilder's, Hotel Bel-Air, Gumps in San Francisco and Honolulu, Waikai Beach. Stretching across the country to Marshall Field's, Carson-Pirie-Scott, Macy's, John Wannamakers, Lord and Taylor, Ovington,and all the leading stores in the South including Neiman-Marcus in Texas. Abroad exports go to Sweden, Goth and Choves in Argentine, four different islands in Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Panama, South Africa, and Mexico.”
Hill was a frequent subject of Jet magazine’s society section. They often wrote about his travels around the world. This includes international destinations such as Mexico, Brazil, Europe, Haiti, Africa and many trips to New York to participate in exhibitions to sell his work. Jet referred to him as a Los Angeles connoisseur and bon vivant who lived in an “ultra-modern house."
According to an article about Tony upon his death, it stated several hundred artisans throughout the country received training at the Tony Hill ceramics workshop. With such a long and prolific career, lasting from about 1944 to 1975 (based on an ad in the July 1975 issue of Interiors advertising a new line of hand thrown stoneware lamp bases) it’s surprising that more of his work doesn’t surface. The lamp [offered here] is only the third piece I’ve been able to find.
From Esoteric Survey
LAMA is proud to present a special selection of design curated by Esoteric Survey, featuring more than 100 works that represent platform founder Steve Aldana's guiding fascination with mid-century design and design history in California. Drawing from Aldana's personal collection as well as from his design-minded community, this collection includes iconic works as well as deeper cuts that represent lesser-known, but nonetheless integral, achievements of postwar artists and designers.
An urban planner by vocation, Aldana has nurtured his fascination with modern design, particularly the strains that emerged in mid-century Southern California, through Esoteric Survey for nearly 15 years. With a desire to share fascinating obscure design figures and document visits to architecture and design sites, he created the blog he named Esoteric Survey in 2009. What first served primarily as a private log for personal reference eventually blossomed into a valuable resource for like-minded design aficionados, and has since taken the form of an immensely popular Instagram account.
Explore Steve Aldana's Blog Esoteric Survey
