Eva Zeisel

I first learned about Eva Zeisel at Pratt- she created the Pratt’s department of ceramic arts/industrial design and taught there for over twenty years.

Eva is originally from Budapest but ended up in New York under the craziest of circumstances. In 1936 she was thrown in jail for allegedly plotting to kill Stalin.
She was imprisoned for 16 months, most of the time in solitary confinement. She was subjected to brainwashing, torture, and the constant possibility that each day would be her last.

She was eventually released with no explanation from the authorities and was put on a train to Austria. Immediately after arriving in Austria, she boarded another train to England, married her boyfriend Hans Zeisel, and left with him for New York- where she’s been designing ever since. Eva is now 103 years old and still making beautiful, expressive objects.