I came across Dorothy Kindell’s work in yet another unfortunate mishap. These things happen, especially when you first start collecting. But I seem to have a knack for not picking up just the piece of pottery that I should have! I had found a small planter-like bowl with a reclining nude woman sculpted onto the top side at the thrift store. The piece was signed “© Kindell”. However, this was just a week after I had received Chipman’s Encyclopedia and though I’d gone through the book roughly I still wasn’t familiar with all the artists and manufacturers.

The name “Kindell” seemed familiar, but since I’d found so many other pieces to take home that day I decided to wait on it and come back for it next week. When I got home, I found that she was indeed listed as a California potter in the 1940s-1950s specializing in giftware. I went back the in a couple days - but of course, the piece was gone.

On the plus side, I’ll definitely be remembering her name in the future! Her items are highly sought after, and it was a little surprising to see how much they can be worth.

The main attraction (then and now) of Dorothy’s work seems to be her depiction of nude and semi-nude women figures, which were very unusual in their day. Sometimes they were standalone pieces, but often were attached to mugs and planters. She also crafted animals, but those pieces aren’t as well known. The piece I had found didn’t seem to have the same stamp that others I’ve seen have had. Those had a stamp with her full name “Dorothy Kindell” along with the copyright. I’ve also seen items that are stamped “D. Kindell”, so perhaps I just didnt’ see the “D”.