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Collections

Robert Arneson
No Deposit, No Return1961

Not on view
Ceramic vessel modeled after a bottle form, with chestnut-brown glaze, impressed 'DEPOSIT' lettering, and a teal-glazed panel bearing a raised mauve X on the body, topped with a sculpted teal bottle cap
Ceramic vessel in the form of an oversized bottle with amber-brown glaze, raised lettering reading "NO DEPOSI" around the shoulder, a turquoise-glazed applied panel with a red X on the front, and a turquoise crown cap at the neck.
Ceramic vessel in the form of a rounded bottle with amber-brown glaze, turquoise crown cap at the neck, raised lettering reading 'DEPOSIT,' and a rectangular turquoise-glazed panel featuring a crossed X motif in relief.
Ceramic vessel in the form of a rounded bottle with matte reddish-brown glaze, raised lettering reading "NO DEPOSIT" around the shoulder, turquoise glazed bottle cap at neck, and a turquoise-glazed diamond-shaped label with unglazed geometric design on the body.
Artist or Maker
Robert Arneson
United States,1930 - 1992
Title
No Deposit, No Return
Place Made
United States, California, Sacramento
Date Made
1961
Medium
Earthenware
Dimensions
Diameter: 5 in. (12.7 cm); Height: 10 3/4 in. (27.305 cm)
Credit Line
Smits Ceramics Purchase Fund, Modern Art Deaccession Fund and the Decorative Arts Council Acquisition Fund
Accession Number
M.91.245
Classification
Sculpture
Collecting Area
Decorative Arts and Design
Curatorial Notes

While playing around in a demonstration booth at the California State Fair, Robert Arneson threw a clay beer bottle form, capped it, and emblazoned it with the slogan “no deposit, no return.” This willfully nonfunctionalist gesture caused a rift with his former teacher the formalist potter Antonio Prieto, but it set the stage for the witty ceramic sculptures that became Arneson’s signature work.



(California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way," 2011-12)

Selected Bibliography
  • Savig, Mary, editor. State Fairs: Growing American Craft. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 2025.
Selected Exhibition History
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". July 6, 2013 - September 29, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". July 6, 2013 - September 29, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". November 2, 2013 - February 9, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". November 2, 2013 - February 9, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 29, 2014 - July 6, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 29, 2014 - July 6, 2014