On July 6th, while cataloging our collection of vintage furniture, decor, and all the other precious tchotchkes and ephemera guests at South Beach Place love, a little bit of web-sleuthing about this particular piece, a tile mirror by American artist Harris Strong, proved serendipitous: July 6th would have been Mr. Strong’s 102nd birthday.

Tile mirror with built in shelf by Harris Strong ca. 1960s

The mirror was found at an antique market in nearby Stuart and purchased for $20 without much fanfare. We were pretty sure it was midcentury, and it was certainly a beautiful piece of decor for South Beach Place. At the time, the verdict was simply “this will look perfect in room 204.” And that was that…

…Until sometime later, when a nearly identical mirror appeared on an art and design webstore for $1750!

And sure, discovering that this was a rare and expensive find after spending less than what big box and closeout stores charge these days for some cheap, mass-produced housewares is every thrift hound’s dream. It’s why shows like Antiques Roadshow and Storage Wars are so successful.

But what started as a bit of digital housekeeping ended in joyful remembrance of a prolific and unique artistic icon of the Midcentury Modern art movement. Harris G. Strong was born on July 6, 1920, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. His first brush with art was through his aunt’s greeting card company. Henrietta “Brownie” Strong, an artist herself, encouraged her young nephew to explore his creative expression and advised him to find a practical use for it as she had. His scientific curiosity and meticulous nature led him to make prototypes of ceramic pie plates and skillfully crafted decorative tiles.

Harris Strong Walnut, Brass, and Ceramic Tile Table Lamp

As a young man, Strong served in World War II, working directly under General Douglas MacArthur as a cryptographer. After being discharged from the Army, Strong went on to graduate from North Carolina State University with a degree in chemical engineering, an area of study he specifically chose to understand the science of glazing, a crucial component of ceramics.

Pair of Mid-Century Modern Tiled Wall Panels Plaques Porcelain by Harris Strong

Strong enrolled in ceramics courses at NYU and would go on to start his own business, Potters of Wall Street. He and his wife Roslyn later founded Harris G. Strong, Inc. in the Bronx. His indomitable work ethic and artistic inspiration from the abstract and modernist movements of the 1950s brought him decades of success. Even a fire in the 1970s that destroyed his Trenton factory and all of his custom glaze formulas within didn’t stop Strong, who pivoted to different media like woodcuts, prints, serigraphs, photography, and paintings.

Mid-Century Harris Strong Queen of Hearts Pottery Tile of Poker Playing Card

Harris G. Strong died in his home in Maine on October 8, 2006. His iconic tile art and expansive body of other artistic works remain highly sought-after collectibles to this day. Come and see a piece of American art history by this mensch of Midcentury Modern design at South Beach Place in room 204, the soon-to-be-renamed Expedition Room.