Tag Archives: Serge Nekrassoff

The Copper Enameling of a House Wife

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This is a follow-up blog explaining why I, Sandra Thurlow, have been so interested in Serge Nekrassoff and his metal craft.

After returning from Travis Air Force Base in California in 1965, we built a house on Edgewood Drive in Stuart.

These jars of the powdered glass used for copper enameling were purchased from an estate. I am holding a little sifter used for dusting the power onto copper that has sprayed with a solution of gum arabic.

Knowing that I did not think caring for one little girl was enough to occupy my days, Tom purchased a kiln and many enameling supplies that were in a Rio estate liquidation.

This shows an upturn piece being counter enameled, meaning that the underside is ready to be fired. Without counter enameling the enamel on the face of a bowl will pop off.

Although, I knew nothing about copper enameling I thought I could learn. I bought “how-to” books and purchased additional supplies from art supply catalogues.

This stylized mosaic was make in 1967.

My earliest creation was prompted by a call of the Episcopal Church Women of St. Mary’s Church for “religious art.” I enlisted my friend Robby Robinson to cut a piece of Masonite in the shape of a stained glass window. I painted it black and glued enameled copper pieces on it.

Another mosaic was done to enter the Arts and Crafts exhibit at the Martin County Fair.
The mosaic, although a bit garish, sits above eye-level on our family room book shelves. It is a reminder of what I did before I appointed myself “History Lady.”

After cleaning the copper, it is sprayed with gum arabic and dusted with enamel (that is really powered glass.)  To fire your item, you open a roaring hot kiln and place your piece or in the case of mosaics—pieces inside. You wear an asbestos glove and use a special long forked instrument with a heat shield on its handle. You close the kiln door and use your judgement about the time you leave your piece or pieces in side. It is a dangerous balancing act. It is easy to over-fire and lose your work. You have to have fire-proof ceramic slabs where you can place your red hot items when you remove them from the kiln.

I longed to learn enameling from Serge Nekrassoff. One day when I ran into Serge and Mary Nekrassoff in a grocery store, I blurted out something about wanting to “apprentice.”  I think that was the wrong word to use. Serge seemed horrified.

I was on my own with copper enameling. I experimented and played around. I used a mallet to shape shallow bowls but flat pieces were much easier. Bowls had to be “counter enameled” meaning that the bottom as well as the top had to be enameled. This was very tricky.

Through the years I made dozens of bridge prizes and gifts of copper enamel, I made Christmas tree ornaments for my Sunday school children .

Presented to Carol Newman as a thank you for teaching gymnastics.
Given to Bryna Potsdam for her 40th Birthday.
A typical bridge prize.
After Tom’s parents died we reclaimed the dish we had given them for their 40th Anniversary and the little trays enameled with their prize winning sailboats from their Liverpool, N. Y. days.

On a trip abroad we met a man who owned a manufacturing plant in Findlay Ohio. After we got home he sent me a packet of large copper sheets. It was right after the Earth had been photographed from Apollo 17. I had one of the big sheets cut into pieces that would fit into my kiln and made a large plaque and called it “Earth Colors From Space.” It hung in our living room for a few years.

When I was checking on daughter, Jacqui, and Ed Lippisch’s home I discovered it hanging on their large screened porch.

Recently, I was in the home of Chuck Schad who was Tom Thurlow’s friend from Liverpool, NY. He and his wife, Audrey, moved to Stuart, after he was an usher in our wedding and met Tom’s brother-in-law, Dale Hudson, who asked if he wanted to work for what is now Seacoast Bank. I happened to look on the wall and saw a plate I gave when they repeated their wedding vows on their 25th Anniversary.

Chuck Schad poses next to the copper enameled plate given 41 years ago.

SO THIS EXPLAINS THE THURLOW INTEREST IN COPPER ENAMELING.

Excellence of Nekrassoff Craftsmanship Now Lost

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Salvatore Mete, Serge and Boris Nekrassoff stand by their crafted items in 1952. Although I owned this Art Ruhnke negative for many years, I did not know it until it was scanned recently by Martin Digital History. http://martindigitalhistory.com

Metal crafting entails the mastery of science. This article by Lionel Crawford, published in Science Illustrated in January, 1949 captures this truth.

The fluted dish belongs to my daughter, Jacqui Thurlow Lippisch. It shows a finished piece similar to the one illustrated in the article. It is hard for the uninitiated to comprehend the mastery of metallurgy required to produce such a piece. It also requires precision and artistic design. The enameling on Jacqui’s dish combines transparent and opaque enamel so the beauty of the copper shows through.

The use of enamels on the 11 inch copper plate is masterful. Serge Nekrassoff’s skill was unique and perhaps no one else will ever rival his artistic accomplishments with enamel on copper.
This small dish with an enameled Florida Scrub Jay is one of my favorite Nekrassoff pieces. I admire it daily with much pleasure.

This enameled hot sauce ladle shows Nekrassoff craftmanship.

This pedestal bowl was given to Mary and Dale Hudson as a wedding gift.

In 1962, my husband and I were also given a Nekrassoff piece for a wedding gift. It was given by Harold and Voncile Zercher whose home was very close to the Nekrassoff home on Willoughby Creek. It was my introduction to Nekrassoff enameling.

My understanding of Serge Nekrassoff’s evolving career has become clearer since I have been revisiting my files and adding to my knowledge through newspaperrs.com.newspapers.com

In interviews, Serge remarked that the tastes of customers in New York were different from those of his clients in South America. It shows how he changed his products to suit the market.

I now understand that Serge Nekrassoff’s copper enameling flourished after he opened his workshop in Stuart. The enameling he did before he moved to Florida was plain or textured but there is no evidence that he painted wildlife scenes or “trees of life” on his copper pieces.

In Martin County nature lovers abounded. Serge changed his merchandise to meet the demand. He was more than a craftsman. He was a fine artist who perfected painting with enamel in his 50s. When he embellished copper enameled pieces with birds and marine life, they sold quickly.

Nekrassoff creations were so much in demand, locally and with New York City’s high-end retailers like Abercrombie and Fitch, it was almost impossible to fill orders and still have enough pieces to display in the S. Nekrassoff & Son showroom on S. U.S. 1 in Stuart.

AT LEAST TWO MORE BLOGS ON THE NEKRASSOFFS AND COPPER ENAMELING WILL FOLLOW.

Serge S. Nekrassoff, Metalsmith and Artist

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A large plate with an American eagle created by Serge Nekrassoff hangs in the Thurlow living room.
This Stuart News article published on May 4, 1969 is an excellent summary.

Starting this blog with the lovely enameled American eagle that hangs on my living room wall and a May 4, 1969 Stuart News article that shows Serge Nekrassoff holding what seems to be an identical plate lets readers know immediately a great deal about the subject of this and future blogs.

The Elliott Museum is showing 50 stunning replica Faberge’ Imperial Eggs. https://hsmc-fl.com/exibits/ When I attended the preview reception in September, I couldn’t help but think of our own Serge Nekrassoff, from Imperial Russia, who lived among us and produced beautiful copper enameled pieces.

As this tag states, Serge became a metalsmith in Paris in 1920 and moved to the USA in 1925.

Serge Nekrassoff was born February 10, 1895 into a family of landed gentry living near St. Petersburg, Russia. He was an officer in the Imperial Guard in 1917. During the Russian revolution, he fled across Europe, working in coal mines in Germany and as a taxi driver in Paris before finding employment with a metalsmith. In Paris, he learned to make everyday objects of copper and brought his skills to the United States where he ultimately set up a workshop in New York City.

He met and married another Russian émigré, Mary Leslie, who had a young son, Boris, who Serge adopted. The family moved to Darien, Connecticut where Serge expanded his metal crafting business, employing as many as 18 assistants. His pieces were sold to high-end stores like Abercrombie and Fitch Co. 

With articles on newspaper.com much can be learned. This article published in the Stuart News on November 23 1950 supplied information new to me even though I started collecting material on Nekrassoff more than 50 years ago.

During WW II, when metals were unavailable, Serge turned to photography. In 1943, the Nekrassoffs purchased waterfront property in Port Sewall next to Sandspit Park and for a short time Serge had a photography shop in Stuart. After the war, when metals again became available, the Florida property was sold and the Nekrassoffs returned to Darien.

Boris who entered the U.S. Army and became a paratrooper, participated in the “battle of the bulge.” After the war he rejoined his parents and began working with his father. The firm then became S. Nekrassoff & Son.

This photograph of Serge and Boris Nekrassoff, taken by Art Ruhnke, appeared in the Stuart News on January 29, 1953.

After experiencing life in Martin County the Nekrassoff family wanted to return, In 1946 they once again bought waterfront property in Port Sewall, this time on Willoughby Creek across from Whiticar Boat Works.

In 1950 Serge and Boris Nekrassoff  built a workshop and sales office on U.S. 1, across from today’s Martin Square Shopping Center where Home Depot is located.

This sign, with a display of Nekrassoff ware, stood on U.S. 1 across from where Home Depot stands today.

MORE NEKRASSOFF BLOGS TO FOLLOW.