CMA announces major gift from the Joseph Bruce Collection of Georgian Porcelain
PRESS RELEASE
December 4, 2025
Columbia, S.C. – The Columbia Museum of Art is honored to announce a major gift of the Joseph Bruce Collection of Georgian Porcelain, one of the most comprehensive private holdings of New Hall porcelain in the United States. The gift, made in celebration of the museum’s 75th anniversary, ultimately totals nearly 200 pieces, representing 58 patterns produced by New Hall between the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Founded in 1781, New Hall was England’s first successful manufacturer of hard-paste porcelain. After decades of experimentation to replicate the prized porcelains of China, New Hall developed the first formula ideally suited for commercial production. Its early wares blended Chinese-inspired decoration with distinctly English shapes, reflecting a moment when global trade, shifting tastes, and advances in technology transformed English domestic life. The manufactory’s later bat-printed designs, many adapted from works by leading artists, link high art and mass production, making New Hall an essential chapter in British decorative arts and cultural history. Comparable collections of this depth are rare outside the United Kingdom, and no other museum in the United States holds a New Hall collection of this scale or significance.
“This extraordinary gift transforms how we can present the story of British decorative arts,” says CMA Senior Curator Michael Neumeister. “The Joseph Bruce Collection offers both depth and range, enabling visitors to experience the full evolution of New Hall porcelain in one place, an experience heretofore possible only at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It will be a touchstone for scholarship and a source of inspiration for years to come.”
The Joseph Bruce Collection charts the full aesthetic and technical evolution of New Hall porcelain, with carefully chosen examples illustrating major design phases, patterns, and innovations. Bruce, a CMA board trustee, has spent more than 40 years assembling this collection, beginning in New York with guidance from two major dealers of antique porcelain. He later acquired works through noted porcelain specialists in England, most notably Robert Hawker, through whom he acquired a number of pieces from the holdings of noted New Hall scholar Patricia Preller.
“New Hall porcelain has been my passion for decades,” says Bruce. “In its new home at the Columbia Museum of Art, I hope this collection will spark curiosity, inspire scholarship, and bring the beauty of Georgian England to life.”
In mid-January 2026, the CMA unveils all 20 newly refreshed galleries devoted to the CMA Collection. The Joseph Bruce Collection will be a highlight of a new British gallery, outfitted with period-correct wallpaper, furniture, and a newly conserved painting attributed to Benjamin Wilson, offering visitors an immersive late 18th- and early 19th-century experience.
“As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, we are absolutely thrilled to receive this spectacular gift, a shining example of how passionate collectors shape museum collections for generations to come,” says CMA Executive Director Della Watkins. “We are deeply grateful to Joseph for entrusting us with such a remarkable legacy, one that will inspire and delight our community and the world.”
Image above:
New Hall (manufacturer). British, active 1781–1835. Teapot and Lid, c. 1812–1819.
Bone china painted in enamels and gilt. Seventy-fifth anniversary acquisition, gift
of the Joseph Bruce Collection of Georgian Porcelain, Columbia Museum of Art,
2025.5.125a-b. Photo courtesy Drew Baron / The Columbia Museum of Art.