Laughing Vase

Artist Robert Carston Arneson (American, 1930-1992)

Date1974

Dimensions18 x 18 x13 in. (45.7 x 45.7 x 33 cm)

MediumGlazed earthenware

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society

Object number

1996.9

Not on View

Label TextI want to make high art that is funny, outrageous, and also reveals the human condition, which is not always high. — Robert Arneson Eyes crinkled and every tuft of beard sprouting aggressively, the vase’s laughing face exudes all the energy of artist Robert Arneson’s earthy sense of humor and zest for life. The vase refers specifically to the long history of head-shaped vessels that began with the ancient Greeks.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Inspired Giving: The Apollo Society 25th Anniversary Exhibition, October 15, 2010-February 13, 2011, p. 26, repr. (col.) p. 26.