Bowl
1957 · Maple
8.9 × 66 cm (3 1/2 × 26 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago
WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture
James Prestini
American, 1908
Waterford, CT, United States
Installation
Representation
None documented
8
Institutional Exhibitions
37
Works in Collection
50
Assets Indexed
4
Authority-backed Facts
0
Publications Referenced
80%
Profile Completeness
Cultural Positioning
Movements
No movements recorded
Related Artists
No edges recorded
Influence Graph
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Selected Institutional Exhibitions
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Recent Acquisitions: Design Collection
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1970–1971
No image
20th Century Design from the Museum Collection
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1958–1959
No image
New Design Trends
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1952
No image
Prize Designs for Modern Furniture
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1950
No image
100 Useful Objects of Fine Design (available under $100)
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1947–1948
About
Why this artist matters now
James Prestini was an American woodturner and designer whose vessels defined postwar American craft modernism. Working primarily in wood on the lathe, he created forms of severe geometric purity, often turned from single blocks of exotic timber and finished to mirror-like surfaces. Prestini taught at the Institute of Design in Chicago, where his approach to functional form as sculptural statement influenced a generation of studio craftspeople. His work bridges industrial design rationalism and the emerging studio craft movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago
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Installation
Related Artists
6 in graph
Institutional
Museum Collections
Canonical record
Artworks (37)
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Institutional
Representation & Collections
In collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In collection
Museum of Modern Art
New York, US
In collection
Art Institute of Chicago
In collection
Cleveland Museum of Art
Record