Plate - "Niagara" c. 1936

This 8-by-10 inch plate, "Niagara," was made by Helmut Hiatt, though we don't know exactly when. Looking at this plate, I'm thinking about transferware, and the painstaking process of printing images onto ceramics. I wonder what it was like for Hiatt to build the image, layer by layer. I imagine the artist carefully placing each image onto the surface of the plate, trying to build a narrative out of disparate images. Is there a common theme, a hidden story here? The figures around the edge, the pastoral landscape, the text at the bottom... I wonder what Hiatt was thinking when he combined these various elements. What does it mean? Was Hiatt consciously referencing the work of other artists, or just having a bit of fun? Maybe the act of creation was a way for Hiatt to engage with his own history, his own memories, and his own experiences. Painting for me is a conversation, and I wonder who Hiatt was talking to when he made this.