Beatrice Wood (born 1893, San Francisco; died 1998, Ojai) A foundational figure in American ceramics, Beatrice Wood developed a practice known for its mastery of luster glazes, sensual forms, and irreverent wit. She played a central role in the early twentieth-century avant-garde. In the 1910s, she was closely linked to Marcel Duchamp and Henri-Pierre Roché, and was part of the New York Dada circle with
artists like Man Ray and Francis Picabia. She co-edited The Blind Man with Duchamp and helped organize the 1917 Blind Man’s Ball. Wood discovered ceramics at the age of forty, after moving to Los Angeles, and continued making work until the end of her life at 105. She later settled in Ojai, drawn by its natural beauty and its spiritual community, including Annie Besant and Jiddu Krishnamurti. Her remarkable life helped inspire the character of Rose in James Cameron’s Titanic. Today, her legacy is carried forward by the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.