Our Lady Of The Little Ones - Henriette Porson - Brittany

Terracotta, ca. 1930.

Manufacturer unknown.

Henriette Porson (1874 – 1963):

After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, Henriette Porson enrolled at the Académie Julian in Paris, where she took painting classes in Jean-Paul Laurens’s studio and sculpture classes at the Atelier Royer. From 1906 to 1909, she exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, where she was awarded medals on several occasions and eventually became a member. In 1912, she founded a course in drawing, painting, and decorative arts in Nantes. As part of the Breton artistic group, she exhibited her works at the Galerie Mignon-Massart in Nantes.

Her collaboration with the HB Manufactory began in the 1930s. She presented a “small seated Arab” at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition, which was awarded a silver medal. In 1947, she participated, alongside the HB Manufactory, in the sacred art exhibition in Nantes. The encyclopedia of Quimper ceramics lists approximately 16 pieces produced by HB. Her studio in Nantes was destroyed by bombing in 1943. The Musée des Ducs de Bretagne in Nantes holds a collection of this artist’s works: plaster casts, charcoal drawings, earthenware, and more...