Otto Natzler (Austrian/American, 1908-2007) and Gertrud Natzler (Austrian/American, 1908-1971). Volcanic glazed yellow and black studio ceramic pottery vase or cup. Marked along the underside. Otto Natzler worked with his wife Gertrud in their Californian studio throughout the 20th century. From 1938 until Gertrud’s death, the duo produced an increasingly notable body of work and elevated ceramics into fine art, with Gertrud as the potter using her refined wheel-thrown process for getting even eggshell-thin results and popularizing native California clay and Otto as the glazer going through experimental phases and thousands of colors. Gertrud’s forms were reminiscent of the Vienna Secessionist movement, while Otto perfected over 2,000 colors and styles of glazes. In 1999, Modernism Magazine declared that the Natzler’s work was “among the finest pottery of all time.” Height: 5 1/2 in x diameter: 3 1/2 in.