André Baud, Vallauris

Fish service by André Baud, Vallauris, France, 1950s.

Comprising a large serving dish and nine plates. Four of the nine plates have one small chip each.

André Baud (1903–1986)

Born in 1903 in Gironde, André Baud studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Bourges and received the Grand Prix de la Céramique in 1923. He continued his training at the École des Arts Appliqués in Paris and in 1925 won an award at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts.

In 1940, he married Micheline Bour. The couple arrived in Vallauris in 1942 and rented a factory from the Milazzo family, which they later bought. He set up a shop there, run by Micheline, which sold the production of culinary, utilitarian and decorative ceramics.

Settling in Vallauris after Suzanne Ramié (Madoura workshop), André Baud actively participated in the renaissance of ceramics in Vallauris, alongside Robert Picault and Roger Capron (the Callis workshop in 1945). In the summer of 1946, the trio (Madoura, Baud and Callis) organised the first exhibition of Vallauris potters in the hall of the Nérolium, which later became the Vallauris International Biennial of Ceramic Art.

During this golden age, joie de vivre filled the city of potters, and friendships were formed with Henri Grailhe, Picasso, Paul Eluard, and others. Thus, a group of five was formed, consisting of André Baud, Roger Capron, Jacques Innocenti, Robert Picault, and the Poterie du Grand Chêne.