Oscar Mortens, who was originally from Sweden, had an art studio in Chicago from 1931 to the 1950s. (One online source says the company began in the 1940s, but William Thomas, who was friends with Inge Thelin, whose husband, Gunnar, worker for Oscar Mortens, says the company began in 1931. Go
here for that information.)
The pieces that were produced were figurines of plaster layered over a metal frame. They were beautiful but not durable - it is very difficult to find a Mortens Studio piece without some damage to its plaster outer coating.
Last Saturday my daughter and I went antiquing together. She was looking for red transferware and moon and stars glassware while I was looking for horses. (We make a good team - Lisa has found things that I missed and vice versa.)
I spied this small cat sitting on a shelf in a corner. Actually, it was the COLOR of the cat that caught my attention - I have a Mortens Studio collie in the same butterscotch and orange.
I have some Mortens Studio horses and two dogs, but I had never seen a cat before. Still, the color was just like my collie.
A quick search on my phone showed that there are a few Mortens Studio cats, but certainly not as many as there are dogs and horses.
With very minimal damage to her ears and for only fifty cents, she came home with me.
If I can, I will pull out my Mortens Studio horses and dogs and do a couple of more posts about them tomorrow or Friday. They're interesting pieces to look at and very collectible in their own way.
Stay tuned!
