Potter Art Iron Studios Collection

About the Collection

The Potter Art Iron Studios digital collection consists of 1,745 shop drawings, layouts, and related materials, circa 1920s-1960s. This collection is one of the few remaining that documents the importance of the blacksmith as a worker in metal, producing decorative architectural pieces, primarily with the forge, anvil, and hammer. The collection was donated to the Bywaters Special Collections at Hamon Arts Library in 1992 by SMU alumna Eva Morgan, daughter of Henry Potter, founder of the Potter Art Iron Studios.

The Potter Art Iron Studios (also known as the Potter Art Metal Studios) worked with many of the architectural firms that shaped some of Dallas’ oldest and best-known residential areas, such as Lakewood, Preston Hollow, and the Park Cities. These firms included those of Fooshee and Cheek, C.D. Hutsell, and David R. Williams, which had launched the career of noted Texas architect O’Neil Ford. Decorative ironwork also was fashioned for North Texas residences, churches, businesses, and institutions, including the Dallas Little Theatre, SMU, Highland Park Shopping Village, Highland Park United Methodist Church, and Highland Park Presbyterian Church.

The subject matter of the designs includes lighting fixtures, furniture, fireplaces, weather vanes, signs, and more.

[Patio Chair and Footstool with Cushions, Maple Leaf Motif, and Scrollwork Accents], 1941

[Brass Wall Pocket Bracket with Musical Note Accents and Copper Plant Container], ca. 1930s-1950s

[Rectangular Glass-Topped Patio Table in the Art Deco Style with Circle Accents], 1941