In the late 1960’s, Cleveland entrepreneur and legendary investment manager, Richard A. Barone, discovered that trading porcelain art was profitable, and as a result, he became familiar with the art, itself. In the mid-1970’s, his business ventures required his focus, so he ceased trading pieces. However, he had since become captivated by the art and became a collector, himself.

By 2006, Mr. Barone learned that all five of the studios now represented at MAPA had closed. Recognizing that many of America’s important porcelains would be acquired by museums and private collectors, or had been broken over the decades, and thus largely lost to public viewing, he decided that the art and the archives of these studios needed to be preserved in one place for future generations. It was at that time that he began to assemble a collection that would later become the Museum of American Porcelain Art.

Through auctions, the purchase of the remnants of the Edward Marshall Boehm Studio in Trenton, New Jersey, and the purchase of nearly 300 pieces from the Cybis Studio during their liquidation, the Museum collection was well on its way.

The Museum’s collection is focused on the works of five major studios, each of which rose to prominence after the 1950, and without exception, had terminated production around the turn of the century.