Biography

Amalric Walter (Sèvres 1870 - 1959 Lury-sur-Arnon)

The young Victor Amalric showed artistic talent at an early age. At the age of 14, he began an apprenticeship at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. He was taught there by Albert Ernest Carrier Belleuse and Theodore Deck, among others. After completing his training in 1890/91, he initially began working for the Manufacture's decoration department, but had to leave again in 1892 because he was called up for military service. Back in Sèvres, Walter opened his own design workshop for ceramics, which he had produced by larger factories. The enameled works he created there had great success. Inspired by his former teacher Gabriel Lévy, he and the latter began to experiment with pâte de verre, which they presented to the public as early as 1903. The objects created in this way probably led to the Daum Frères glassworks in Nancy becoming aware of Amalric Walter and concluding a contract with him in 1903. This contract stipulated, among other things, that Walter would not produce outside Daum Frères for the duration of ten years and that he would keep his recipe for making pâte de verre a secret. The move to Nancy gave Walter his own studio within the glassworks, and the necessary materials were provided for him. Again, it was war service that ended the collaboration with Daum Frères in 1914. In 1919 Walter managed to open another studio - this time with its own kiln - in Nancy. His friendship with Henri Bergé, with whom he had already worked closely at Daum Frères, continued. A large number of joint works in Pâte de Verre were created. Walter was also allowed to include some molds and associated models from his former employer in his program. Likewise, new works or collaborations with freelance artists in the contemporary Art Deco style were created. The workshop flourished and grew to ten employees by 1925. However, Black Friday on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929 also spelled the end for many glass manufacturers in Lorraine. Amalric Walter, together with Henri Bergé, tried to save the workshop from ruin for another ten years, but had to give up in 1939. He died impoverished and half blind in 1959 in Lury-sur-Arnon.

Amalric Walter had already received a bronze medal at the Exposition nationale et coloniale in Rouen in 1896 and an honorary diploma at the World's Fair in Paris in 1900, and a gold medal there in 1910. He also participated in 1925 at the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels in Paris with great success.

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Literature: Le Tacon/Hurstel, Amalric Walter, Metz 2013

Objects by Amalric Walter