Fiesta Ware
In 1927 Rhead was hired as art director of the Homer Laughlin China Company in Newell, West Virginia. He continued in the position until his death in 1942.
In the 1930s, Rhead conceived and designed a line of glazed dinnerware called Fiesta. It was based on a spherical theme in Art Deco style. The pottery came in five colors. The concept was that the customer could acquire pieces of different colors to mix and match according to taste. Introduced to the public in January 1936, the line was an immediate success. The idea of mixed solid colors on dinnerware was not new but Rhead's version was more successful. Such a concept had previously been marketed by two California potteries, the Catalina Pottery of Santa Catalina Island in the early 1930s and the Bauer Pottery.
The Homer Laughlin Company expanded the line with new shapes, and eventually new glaze colors as well. It became the best-selling line of dinnerware in the USA. Rhead designed a similar line called "Harlequin", which was sold in Woolworth's, an important customer of Homer Laughlin.
Frederick Hurten Rhead died in New York City in November 1942 from cancer.
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