Julio De Diego for Stonelain Pottery (American Associated Artists); made in 1950 and roughly 8″ across

In March 1948 Julio De Diego, the Spanish-born Surrealist painter, married famed burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee. De Diego was Lee’s third husband. A year after their marriage, Lee went on the road with the traveling carnival Royal American Shows — and De Diego went with her. He occupied himself by painting works inspired by his life as well as creating Surrealist murals used in the show. In 1950 De Diego was recruited by American Associated Artists (AAA) in New York to serve as a designer for their ceramics concern, Stonelain Pottery. As noted in a September 1950 New York Times article reviewing the line, De Diego was responsible for “River Patterns,” the most expensive piece offered (at $75) and one notably containing a Surrealist “gravy tree” in lime — adventuresome art indeed for the 50s home! Thus we have the setting for the Cubist piece here, a 1950 Christmas gift created by De Diego using a standard Stonelain blank. Consisting of a playfully rendered Lee and De Diego, it contains a discreet nod to burlesque costumes in the form of a small rhinestone added to the piece after firing. One wonders at the color selections. Was the blue in Lee’s face reflecting burlesque, which was considered a “blue” profession at the time? Did the green in De Diego’s face represent jealousy? Whatever the interpretation, it is a wonderful piece of history which is consistent with his other art at the time (see the many similarities with the pink lithograph he created for his friend Ramon Shiva, the owner of the Chicago paint company Shiva’s Artist’s Colors). Although the fun and colorful nature of the bowl reflected a happy marriage in 1950, the good times didn’t last: He and Lee separated in 1952 and divorced in 1955. Although her fame lives on (note Addison Rae’s use of a vintage Lee dress in 2025), De Diego has faded into the background as far as history goes. For a bright and shining moment, though, he was right in the spotlight with Lee — and this piece proves it.