Frank Boyden

Born: 1942, Portland, OR

Frank Boyden was a painter before he began working with clay in 1968; then finally giving up painting in 1972 to give his full time to clay. His skills as a draftsman ...
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Typical Marks

    About
    Biography

    Frank Boyden was a painter before he began working with clay in 1968; then finally giving up painting in 1972 to give his full time to clay. His skills as a draftsman led him to explore ways to incorporate drawing on the surfaces of his pieces. From 1968 to 1981 he worked mostly with locally sourced glaze material and clays that are then thrown and low fired.Since 1993 he has worked only with porcelain on which he continued to perfect his drawing skills. The subject matter of the surface treatments on his work reflects his interests in his immediate environment.

    Apprenticeships & Residencies
    Primary Work Experience
    1968
    -

    Studio Artist

    Other

    Public Collections

    Albuquerque Museum of Art, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred University, Alfred, New York

    American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California

    Arabia, Helsinki, Finland

    Ariana Museum, Geneva, Switzerland

    Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona

    Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

    Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho

    Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room, Connecticut College Library, New London, Connecticut

    Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, Oregon

    Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California

    Davidson Art Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut

    The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington

    Grimmerhus Ceramic Museum, Fyn, Denmark

    Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

    Harlow Collection, Bemidji University, Bemidji, MN

    Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon

    Hult Center for the Performing Arts, Eugene, Oregon

    Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon

    J. Paul Getty Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California

    Kinsey Institute, University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana

    Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon

    Lake Oswego Public Library, Lake Oswego, Oregon

    Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Illinois

    Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California

    Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York

    Millersville University Art Galleries, Millersville, Pennsylvania

    Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, Oregon

    Museum of Decorative Arts, Riga, Latvia

    Museo de Arte Costarricense, San Jose, Costa Rica

    Newport Public Library, Newport, Oregon

    New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico

    New York Public Library, New York, New York

    Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, Utah

    Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondhiem, Norway

    Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff, Arizona

    Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon

    Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon

    Oregon College of Arts and Crafts, Portland, Oregon

    Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

    Pushkin Museum, Moskva, Russia

    Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin

    Reed College Rare Books Collection, Portland, Oregon

    Skaelskor International, Ceramic Center, Denmark

    Smith College Library, Northampton, Massachusetts

    Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC

    Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois

    Stanford University Library, Palo Alto, California

    Stedelijke Musea, Museum of Fine Arts, Oostende, Belgium

    Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Washington

    Taideteollisuusmuseo (National Museum of Applied Art), Helsinki, Finland

    Tongass Historical Museum, Ketchikan, Alaska

    Topeka Public Library, Topeka, Kansas

    University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, Iowa

    Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England

    Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington

    Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

    Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

    Bibliography

    Allen, Lois. “Natural Acts,” Artweek (April 1993).

    Armstrong, David W. On the River through the Valley of Fire, The Collaborative Ceramics of Frank Boyden and Tom Coleman, Pomona, CA: American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2008.

    AMOCA. Coexistence with Fire: Wood-fired Ceramics by Frank Boyden, 1985-2007. Pomona, CA: American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2008.

    Beach, Polly. “Passion and Knowledge through Clay,” Clay Times 9, no. 9 (2003).

    __________. “Razor Wire Rim,” Studio Potter 28 (1997).

    __________. “The Skin of the Pot,” Studio Potter 24 (1995).

    __________  and Mike Riley. “Garden Environment,” American Craft (February/March 1993).

    __________. “Building the East Creek Anagama,” Studio Potter (Summer 1985).

    __________. “Common Ground,” Studio Potter 14, no. 1 (1985).

    Campbell, Brett. “Center of Gravity,” Portland Monthly (November 2006).

    Cantor, Allyn. “Frank Boyden: The Empathies,” Preview, Gallery Guide (November / December / January 2006).

    Curtin, Barbara. “A Showcase for Oregon Art,” Statesman Journal, Salem, OR (July 11, 2010).

    Davies, Terry. “Oregon Postscript 2007,” Ceramics Art and Perception no.68, 2007.

    ___________. “Drawing on Totemic Powers,” Craft Arts International no.14 (1988).

    Fisher, Mary Pat. The Art of Seeing, second edition, New York, NY: Prentice Hall Publishers, 1990.

    Francis, Kevin. “Frank Boyden ‘25 Years in Clay’,” Willamette Week (February 28, 1995).

    Griffin, Jean. “Boyden and Soldner Build Heat Exchangers for Pottery Northwest,” Crafts Report (November 1982).

    Harris, James. “The Kiln and Foundry Facility at Western Oregon State College,” Ceramics Technical no.2 (1996).

    Harrington, Lamar. Ceramics in the Pacific Northwest: A History, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1979.

    Hopper, Robin. The Ceramic Spectrum. Radnor, PA: Chilton Book Co., 1984.

    Johnson, Barry. “Fires of the Anagama,” The Oregonian (June 1986).

    Johnstone, Sandra. “Frank Boyden Workshop,” Ceramics Monthly (February 1991).

    Lamberton, Daniel. “On the River through the Valley of Fire,” Ceramics Monthly 57, no. 3 (March 2009).

    _______________. On the River through the Valley of Fire: The Collaborative Ceramics of Frank Boyden and Tom Coleman. Pomona, CA: American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2008.

    Lane, Peter. Ceramic Form.  New York, NY: Rizzoli International Publications, 1988.

    Luckhurst-Lute, Elizabeth. Frank Boyden Workshop,” Ceramics Monthly (January 1995).

    Mansfield, Janet. “American Ceramics,” Craft Arts (January 1985).

    Minogue, Coll, ed. Impressed and Incised Ceramics, London, England: A&C Black, 1996.

    Neugarten, Rachel.  “Inspiring Repulsion,” The Oregonian (November 24, 2006).

    O’Neill, Yvette. Frank Boyden,” Ceramica 6 no. 22 (1985).

    Parks, Dennis. A Potter’s Guide to Raw Glazing and Oil Firing. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons Publishers, 1980.

    Priester, Mary. “The Interactivators: Sculpture for TriMet WES Commuter Rail,” Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 2009.

    Reich, Jeff. “Wood Spirits at Galleria Mesa,” Ceramics Art and Perception no. 6 (1991).

    Sarson, Katrina. “Everybody’s Art: An Oregon Art Beat Special,” OPB Member Guide (May 2008).

    Steinzor, Ben. Basic Ceramics. New York, NY: Prentice Hall Publishers, 1986.

    Troy, Jack. Wood-Fired Stoneware and Porcelain.  Radnor, PA: Chilton Books, 1994.

    Wiggers, Namita. Unpacking the Collection: Selections from the Museum of Contemporary Craft. Portland, OR: Museum of Contemporary Craft, 2008.

    Wright, Nancy Means. “American Craft,” Studio Potter (August 1984).

    CV or Resume
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    Website(s)
    Tags (related topics)

    Scripps College Ceramic Annual

    Clackamas County, Oregon

    anagama

    Citation: Frank Boyden, "The Marks Project."
    Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/frank-boyden

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