UND Pottery Collection
Artist Bio
Margaret Kelly Cable, born in Minnesota in 1884, moved to Minneapolis in the early 1900s to study ceramics at the Guild of Handicrafts. In 1909, Earle Babcock, instructor of Chemistry, English, and Geology at the University of North Dakota, started the Ceramics Department to study the valuable clay resources North Dakota had to offer and he asked Cable to head it.
Cable began teaching at UND in 1910 while continuing her education in the summers, working and studying under famous ceramists around the country. At UND, Cable was known for interesting lectures and demonstrations. In 1915, Cable was accepted into the American Ceramic Society (ACS). She went on to write several papers on her work and research at UND that were published in the ACS’s journal.
Cable gained national recognition when she was chosen to be “North Dakota’s Outstanding Woman” at the 1927 Women’s World Fair in Chicago, IL. That same year, Cable built her first home, on the campus at the University of North Dakota. The home was demolished in 2006. 1927 proved to be a successful year for Cable when she was highlighted by the New York Times “Current Activities in the World of Art” section on August 21st. In the article, Cable explained the research UND Ceramics was doing with North Dakota clay. In 1933, Cable attended the Century of Progress Exposition where her work was described as an “outstanding exhibition of United States pottery”.
Margaret Kelly Cable retired from UND in 1949 after 39 years of teaching. Her work is remembered for the high level of skill it exhibits as well as its representation of native plants and animals of North Dakota, Native American cultural symbols, and art deco and art nouveau inspired styles. After retiring from her successful career at the University of North Dakota, she moved to California with her sister, Flora Cable Huckfield, another influential UND ceramist, to be closer to family. In 1951, she earned the Binns Medal of Excellence in Art from Alfred University and the American Ceramics Society. Cable passed away October 31, 1960. Over 100 years after she was hired to run it, the UND Ceramics Department is still in operation today.
Sources:
p. 3-13 University of North Dakota Pottery: The Cable Years by Margaret Libby Barr, Donald Miller, and Robert Barr
Preview
Size
3 1/2" diameter
Date of Work
1926
Description
Gifted to the UND Pottery Collection, University of North Dakota in memory of Phyllis Sweetland McCusker and Tracy Olletin Sweetland. The gift was made by Kris McCusker on behalf of their family.
Ceramic commemorative medallion. Gray interior with cobalt blue edges. Profile of John Jacob Astor featured on one side with text that reads, "PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY". Outer ring reads, "THE COLUMBIA RIVER HISTORICAL EXPEDITION 1926". On the opposite side, the gray center shows a pair of hands shaking with a peace pipe crossed with an tomahawk, with the text, "FORT UNION U.M.O." The cobalt ring text reads, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA & NORTH DAKOTA CLAY.
According to Donald Miller's 1999 University of North Dakota Pottery, The Cable Years (p. 16) “The Columbia River Historical Expedition stopped in Grand Forks on July 16, 1926, on its way to the west coast. A special train starting in Chicago and continuing west, followed in general the old oxcart trails between Fort Snelling and Fort Garry and the prairie and mountain trail west of the Red River Valley. President Budd of the Great Northern Railroad Co. was one of the motivating forces... To honor the guests of President Budd, Miss Cable prepared clay replicas of the original Astor Medal as gifts for those accompanying Budd across the country.”
Art Descriptors
Ceramic; pottery; circular; medallion; commemorative; gray; blue
Condition
Excellent
Status
Stored: UND Pottery Collection Box 64
Location
UND Art Collections Repository
Recommended Citation
Cable, Margaret Kelly, "1926 Astor/Columbia River Historical Expedition Medallion - bead pattern yellow, blue, green yellow" (2018). UND Pottery Collection. 2207.
https://commons.und.edu/pottery/2207
Rights
Images are provided for educational purposes only and may not be reproduced for commercial use. Images may be protected by artist copyright. A credit line is required to be used for any public non-commercial educational purpose. The credit line must include, “Image courtesy of the University of North Dakota.”