One of the few African American ceramicists working in mid-century Los Angeles, Doyle Lane was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1925. He began his education at Los Angeles City College before moving on to East Los Angeles City College and finally the University of Southern California, where he was a classmate of artist and fellow ceramicist Ken Price. In the 1950s he made his home and studio in the El Sereno neighborhood of East Los Angeles, remaining there for the rest of his life.

An astute businessman as well as a master of glazes, his eye-catching colors and gentle forms possess a life and order all their own. A dedicated artist and pragmatist, Lane once related “architectural commissions have mainly been my support and encouragement. I used to go around to the architects and show them my portfolio” (as quoted in “Black Artists of Los Angeles,” “Studio Potter Magazine” Vol. 9 No. 2, June 1981, page 19).

His red glazes, like the ones seen in this piece, were applied in a thick layer to the clay and fired until the edges would burn and blacken, rendering a unique texture and color to the pot. As Lane would say “well created and well designed—that was the merit; not controversial, just beautiful pieces” (as quoted in “Black Artists of Los Angeles,” “Studio Potter Magazine” Vol. 9 No. 2, June 1981, page 20).

Though known and loved by the collectors and architects who commissioned him during his lifetime, Doyle Lane’s work, and the work of other African American ceramicists, has mostly been left out of the narrative of California post-war ceramics. Since his death in 2002, his work has gained a following, including a retrospective at Reform Gallery in 2014 and inclusion in several important public and private collections.