Fiesta ware Pitcher and Mold

A native of Staffordshire, England, Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880-1942) followed six generations of potters in his family and became the art director of a local pottery before he was twenty years old.

In 1902, he immigrated to the United States, where he proceeded to work as designer or art director for a series of firms, including S. A. Weller Pottery and Roseville Pottery, both located in Zanesville, Ohio; University City Pottery near St. Louis, Missouri; Arequipa Pottery in Marin County, California, and others.

From 1927 to his death, he was art director of the Homer Laughlin China Company in Newark, West Virginia, where he reached a career zenith, designing the perennially popular "Fiesta" pattern. It is still produced today.