About McCoy Pottery

McCoy pottery was established by James W. McCoy in 1899 and was owned and operated by four generations of McCoys until 1967. Creating first functional pieces, later designers such as Walter Bauer and Geroge S. Brush focused their attention on producing umbrella stands, vases, jardinières, and pedestals, and other decorative pieces. Under new ownership, McCoy Pottery continued operations of art ware until 1990.

While the McCoy and Brush-McCoy designs developed over the 20th century, artisans seemed ever-focused on nature. The first art ware, Mont Pelee, was inspired by the volcanic eruption in St. Pierre, Martinique, while the floral Loy-Nel-Art (similar to Roseville Rozane and Weller Louwelsa) was the most known line. Late McCoy pottery pieces were primarily of the leaf and berry theme with blended brown and green glazes, and most later pottery was not marked. On the Brush-McCoy side, popular lines included a matte green and white Navarre line and the woodsy Sylvan line, which then inspired Weller's Forest ware.