Plate - "Marine Hospital, Louisville" c. 1936

Helmut Hiatt made this plate with a depiction of the Marine Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, sometime between 1855 and 1995. Imagine Hiatt, meticulously transferring this image onto the ceramic. This isn't just decoration; it's about making functional objects beautiful, imbuing them with stories. The soft greyscale gives the scene a dreamlike quality, and those shells framing the building seem like protective guardians. I’m wondering what Hiatt was thinking. Did he see the hospital as a beacon of hope, a place of healing for those who came by sea? The building itself has a kind of serene grandeur, but the shells add a layer of complexity. Are they souvenirs, reminders of faraway shores? It reminds me of how artists like Picasso and Braque incorporated found objects into their work, transforming the everyday into something extraordinary. Maybe Hiatt saw the plate as a canvas for a quiet conversation. It certainly speaks to me.