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Midcentury modern planters — 19 circa-1950 designs from LaGardo Tackett available today

pam kueber - Updated: May 7, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

Lagardo Tackett ceramic planter from Vessels USA authentic Architectural Pottery design circa 1950Could these be more lovely? Researching the life and work of ceramicist LaGardo Tackett recently, I learned that 18 of his planter designs — and one amazing garden sculpture — are still in production and available today. In 1998 Vessel USA resurrected the iconic ceramics originally made famous by Max and Rita Lawrence’s Architectural Pottery company beginning in 1950. These LaGardo Tackett planters — which comprise the largest portion of Vessel USA’s line today — accessorized the famous Case Study houses, and were featured in a Museum of Modern Art exhibit as early as 1951. The planters are as classic as classic midcentury modern as it gets.

Cylinder planter by LaGardo Tackett for Architectural Pottery

It is impossible to understate the importance of LaGardo Tackett and of Architectural Pottery to midcentury modern interior design history. The spark to create Architectural Pottery was actually lit when Max and Rita Lawrence saw LaGardo’s work in 1949: They knew that all the fab mid mod houses being built throughout California needed these planters. There was nothing like them, apparently, and we all know that California was about indoor/outdoor living. Max Lawrence was originally a meat packer, who earned his wealth packaging meat rations for World War II and the Korean war. But he and Rita were finely tuned to the arts and design, and their new company, Architectural Pottery, was an immediate success. From the 2010 obituary of Max Lawrence in the Los Angeles Times, which is a lovely tribute and fascinating read:

Architects began ordering the Lawrences’ wares almost as soon as the first catalog was published in 1950. It wasn’t long before a piece by Architectural Pottery was considered as necessary in the modernist home as an Eames chair.

…”Whenever we see a white cylinder planted with a tree or flowers inside or outside an office building or a bank, and now quite often at gasoline stations, all of that is the heritage of Architectural Pottery,” Bill Stern, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Museum of California Design, said….

You know I am not a died-in-the-wool “high falutin'” modernist. I do not believe that “Ornament is a Crime.” But, these garden sculptures by Tackett — again, still in production today — do have my heart all pitter pat. Yes, these pieces are “expensive”but they are the real deal.

lagardo tacket planterI want to marry this planter. What a wonderful story Vessels USA has to tell. From the company’s About page:

Vessel USA Inc. was founded in 1998 to revive stunningly simple planters and other ceramic designs that brought acclaim to the Architectural Pottery Collection, a Los Angeles company founded in 1950 by Max and Rita Lawrence. Prominent mid-century LA architects such as Richard Neutura and Pierre Koenig favored the pottery line for spare, geometrically ordered residential gardens and commercial buildings….
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Knowing the inherent value of these historical award winning designs, owner Michael Stephenson painstakingly rescued the original company after years of research and development. “Geometric and organic shapes may look quite simple to produce although there is quite a lot of engineering behind the scenes to produce symmetrical forms. Molds can weigh hundreds of pounds and a single ceramic piece can take over a week to produce from start to finish. Proprietary techniques are used to execute the product”.
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midcentury modern planters in colors

If you can bear to break out of Unhappy Hipster mode, there are even colors.

Vessels USA line of LaGardo Tackett planters

Click the photo above to see Vessel USA’s complete line. It seems you can order direct from the company, or google “Architectural Pottery” to find it at a number of other online retailers.

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14 comments

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  2. Marion Powell says

    Now don’t everybody hate me but I bought Pam’s black and green “fiancé” but in white for $5 at a yard sale.

    I collect matte white pottery of all brands (hull, McCoy, floraline, haeger, and more). They are all pots, planters, vases, etc. I knew I had something great when I came across this planter.

  4. J Chris says

    Vessel has an amazing collection of architectural pottery! It’s funny I should read this post today because we are working out a plan to sell Vessel’s line on our site and hopefully show them at the 2012 Palm Springs Modernism Week in February.

    In addition to Tackett, Vessle reproduces planters by David Cressey who is also a significant mid-century modern pottery artist. He originally started out at Architectural Pottery before staring his own company called Earthgender Pottery. If you are into mid-century modern design and pottery, you should definitely google David and Earthgender. So inspiring…

    Furthermore, Gainey Ceramics (founded in 1949) is bringing out their vintage molds because of current popular demand. There is nothing like a new planter made from an authentic mold.

  5. retrojunkie58 says

    I would cry my eyes out if I broke one of these spendy little creatures!!! Beautiful though!

  6. nickarmadillo says

    I’m desperately seeking mid-century-style planters. Alas, nobody carries them near me and the online stores charge an arm and a leg. Why Ikea? Why do you have to be so far away?

  8. Jill says

    Love love love! we have a growing collection of vintage Bullet and Gainey planters – all white – I just whipped off a new Xmas Want list after reading this article! Not sure if its a very good thing or a very bad thing that Escondido is only a 40 minute drive away! LOL

  9. Elaine says

    Wonderful! What a find. The colors available are really interesting. We can be cool or over the top color mad. I do see they offer ‘greige.’ I thought you made that up, Pam.