Gail Reynolds Natzler

June 17^th, 1940 • April 9^th, 2025

Los Angeles

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Take life as it comes and death as it comes. Death is really beautiful; if it were a bad thing, God would not let it happen to us. It is really freedom, an entry into another, higher life."
~ Paramahansa Yogananda

Obituary

Gail Reynolds Natzler, a vibrant spirit whose life was a testament to beauty and discovery, passed away peacefully on April 9, 2025, just shy of her 85th birthday, after a short illness. Born on June 17, 1940, Gail's journey was marked by creativity, adventure, and an enduring love for those around her.

Gail swam with the nationally selected "American Aquacade" Team which exhibited synchronized swimming in several European countries and at the Olympics in Rome in 1960. In 1960-61, she studied in Vienna Austria, coordinated and swam with the first international synchronized swimming exhibition in Austria, and traveled to photograph throughout parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She was the only student member of the press photographic corps for the Kennedy-Khrushchev conference in Vienna. In 1963, Gail graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with concentrations in European Literature, Political Science and Anthropology. She also became a schoolteacher in LA City Schools while enrolled in evening classes in drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics at Otis Art Institute and at UCLA from 1964 - 1972. Sculpture was an early creative passion, along with jewelry making, drawing and painting. But Photography became her main artistic pursuit.

Gail and the world-renowned ceramicist, Otto Natzler, married September 7, 1973 in Bridgeport, CA., sharing a life enriched by artistic collaboration and exploration. Her passion for photography was not just a hobby but a profound extension of her essence, enabling her to eternalize the intricate beauty of the world and the timeless work of Otto and his predeceased wife, Gertrud. Perhaps Gail's greatest legacy is her photography of the remarkable glaze surfaces Otto created and the processes of his work. She exhibited her photos at more than 20 museums and galleries from 1977 to 1993, usually alongside Gertrud and Otto's ceramics. Thousands of photographs remain as a cherished legacy, capturing moments of beauty and the exquisite art that surrounded her.

Los Angeles was home, but the world was her canvas. Gail's travels took her to incredible places, where she found joy and inspiration, and she surrounded herself with friends and loved ones who were fortunate to share in her luminous presence.

A celebration of Gail's life will take place at 10 AM on Monday, October 27, 2025, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, located at 12355 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604. Friends and family are invited to join in person or virtually, to honor a life beautifully lived.

For those who can attend in person, refreshments will be provided, and guests are welcome to take home mementos of Gail’s extraordinary journey and spirit.

To request a link to the virtual memorial, please email: CelebrateGailNatzler@gmail.com

Gail Reynolds Natzler will be remembered for her passion for capturing the essence of beauty, her dedication to uplifting the art of Otto and Gertrud Natzler, and her unwavering commitment to celebrating the joys of life.

Recognition

Gail Reynolds Natzler - Exhibitions of Photographs

[Unless otherwise mentioned, these were in conjunction with Natzler ceramic exhibitions.]

1977: Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, California

Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Arizona

1978: University of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff

1979: Triangle Gallery, San Francisco, California

1981: Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Robert L. Kidd Associates Galleries, Birmingham, Michigan.

1983: Louis Newman Galleries, Beverly Hills, California.

Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C.

1984: The Art Collector Gallery, Gainesville, Florida.

"Surfaces of the Earth," Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles, California. [Solo exhibition.] First presentation of the portfolio "Otto Natzler Ceramic Sculpture."

1985: Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C.

"Views from Above. 1965-1985." Zeitlin & Ver Brugge Gallery, Los Angeles, California. [Solo exhibition]

1986: The Jordan-Volpe Gallery, New York, New York.

Louis Newman Galleries, Beverly Hills, California.

1987: Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Hebrew Union College, Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, California.

1989: Susan Conway Carroll Gallery, Washington, D.C.

1990: Couturier Gallery, Los Angeles, California.

Moa Art Gallery, West Hollywood, California.

1991: Helen Drutt Gallery, New York, N. Y.

Susan Conway Gallery, Washington, D.C.

1992: Klutznick Museum, Washington, D.C.

1993: American Craft Museum, New York, N. Y.

Babcock Galleries, New York, N.Y.

Gail Reynolds Natzler - Reviews

" .... The CAFAM [Craft and Folk Art Museum] catalog is small and choice, visually strong because of the photography. .... Her resume reads 'sculptor,' but her art certainly involves the camera. With the lens, she brings up textures and contours, colors and spatial relationships that otherwise might go unrecognized in the rich offering....”

~ Carolyn Dyer, ART WEEK, 1977

" .... In 1973, Otto married Gail Reynolds, a sculptor and photographer, who has had several exhibitions of her work. With her gifted and selective eye, she photographs details of Otto's glazed surfaces, frequently concentrating on minute areas of an object. She creates fascinating abstract images, which lead the viewer into the magic formations created by the fire of Otto's kiln. Gail Reynolds Natzler's photographs open a new dimension of perception into Natzler ceramics and into the parallels with geological occurances in nature that they suggest."

~ Barbara Gilbert, Curator, Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum, Bulletin, 1987

".... Gail has developed a reputation as an accomplished artist in her own right and her work has been exhibited extensively. Separately the Natzlers are blessed with extraordinary talents. Together, they create works of art that are a joy to behold."

~ Nancy Lee Femas, THE WORLD & I Magazine, May, 1988

" .... The Natzler pots were presented .... with close-ups of the glazes transforming them into simulated abstract paintings .... "

~ Paul Mattic Jr., AMERICAN CRAFT, June/July 1992

Timeline

1940

June 17^th

Born in Los Angeles, California.

1956

While in high school, she became a charter member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

1960

Swam with nationally selected "American Aquacade" Team which exhibited synchronized swimming in several European countries and at the Olympics in Rome.

1961

1960-61

Enrolled at the University of Vienna, Austria.

Photography in Greece and Turkey.

Gail Reynolds was the only student member of the press photographic corps for the Kennedy-Khrushchev Summit Conference in Vienna.

Coordinated and swam with the first international synchronized swimming exhibition in Austria.

Photography in the Middle East and Asia.

1963

Graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with concentrations of study in European Literature, Political Science, and Anthropology.

1964

1964-72

After receiving a post-graduate teaching credential, she taught for the Los Angeles City Schools while enrolled in evening classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, and ceramics at Otis Art Institute and at UCLA.

1965

Studied sculpture, the Mexican muralists, and archaeology at the University of Mexico. Photographed Toltec, Aztec, and Mayan archaeological centers.

1966

Became engaged to sculptor and Professor of Art, Dr. Leonard Heath, who took her to see an inspiring exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: "The Ceramic Work of Gertrud and Otto Natzler". She always recalled how she felt upon first seeing their ceramics. The perfectly poised forms made her feel as though walking on air. And the glazes held her fascination in their endless mystery.

1970

November 15^th

Met Gertrud and Otto Natzler at the Tidepool Gallery in Malibu.

1971

May: Purchased a hardwood workbench and big iron vice to use in finishing her bronze sculpture, then converted the living room of her Santa Monica Canyon cottage into a sculpture studio. Bookcases, a fireplace and her upright piano defined the sculpting area. Cramped into the corner was her wax-forming table.

June: She felt very saddened for Otto to read that his wife Gertrud had died and wrote him a condolence note. Surprisingly, he answered it on the back of an invitation to a retrospective exhibition of their work at the M. H. de Young Museum. In August, Otto and Gail met there for the second time.

December: Otto invited Gail to move her wax sculpting table into Gertrud's unused room in the Natzler studio.

1972

November 2^nd

Nearly a year and a half after Gertrud's death, Gail was finally able to persuade Otto to return to complete her work. His first brush stroke of glaze was on the last pot Gertrud made, and Gail knew she had to photograph this decisive moment. She regretted that at the time that she knew very little about photography. However, with this photograph she began documenting his ceramic work -- though she said at first with the wrong camera, the wrong film, and no sense of lighting or technique!

1973

Gail Reynolds and Otto Natzler were married September 7 at the Mono County Courthouse, in Bridgeport, California.

1975

Began receiving commissions from private collectors to photograph their collections.

Photographed the studio and sculpture garden of Charles Lawler, Pescadero, California.

1976

Gail persuaded Otto to help her build a sculpting table for her work over Gertrud's potter's wheel. He was not sure he liked this idea until he began using it for his own ceramic constructions the following year.

1977

Creative work in sculpture was gradually superseded by photography as Gail Reynolds Natzler photographed the process, form, and surface of her husband's ceramics. She credits his work and way of life for her inspiration to photograph the subtle beauty of the Earth in depth.

1978

Began receiving magazine commissions for ceramic photography.

1980

Photographed abstract light patterns she made on James Prestini's sculpture, Berkeley, California.

1981

1981-83

Commissioned by Laura Andreson, Harrison McIntosh, and Daniel Rhodes to photograph their ceramic works.

1982: June 23. With the proceeds from the sale of one of her bronze sculptures, she had planned to buy an air compressor to finish more bronzes. Realizing that at the time she had no space for one, she invested instead in a medium-format camera to photograph her husband's work. She did not resume sculpting after that.

1983: Photography in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Northern Ireland.

1984

Published portfolio on "Otto Natzler Ceramic Sculpture".

1985

Major photographic works on the theme "Views from Above” in Italy, Austria, and London.

Photographed artist, Lucie Rie's London studio home.

Printed "Otto Natzler", a black-and-white book of 22 original photographs illustrating her husband at work in his workshop.

1987

Designed the floor plan and oversaw the construction of a new wing onto their home, which included a beautiful, spacious studio for Gail with a color darkroom.

1989

Travel in Austria with an architectural purpose: to photograph Baroque design motifs, such as church onion domes and inverted bowl forms, which she saw as possible precursors of the ceramic forms Gertrud refined on her wheel.

Photography in the Tessin area of Switzerland and in Hungary.

1990

Notable increased control in her glaze detail photography developed when she began printing her own Cibachrome color prints.

1991

Photography in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Italy with continued work on certain themes which had long interested her.

1992

November 5^th

November 5. First use of large format camera work to make portraits of Natzler ceramics for the American Craft Museum catalog.

2000

1990's & 2000's

Focused on photographing Otto's creative process and works, with particular acclaim for her on close-up photos of the textures he created with his innovative glazes. Traveled extensively with Otto to museums and exhibitions, showing the ceramic work and Gail's photography of it. Backpacking, and exploring nature.

2007

April 7^th

Otto passed away from cancer at age 99.

2008

The remainder of her life . . .

Gail was an avid reader and supporter of the arts. She swam often at the Rosebowl Aquatic Center, and travelled extensively, visiting museums and galleries to promote the Natzler works. Travel ceased after the COVID pandemic hit due to Gail's health challenges. She stayed in touch with friends and family via cards, email and calls.

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Other family members

Florence Nevada Reynolds Aitken Staines

Paternal Aunt

Roberta Ann Staines Wallick

Paternal First Cousin

Robert Henry ("Sunny") Staines Jr.

Paternal First Cousin

Richard Allan Reynolds

Paternal First Cousin

Leman Dyer Reynolds

Paternal Uncle

Don Lee Reynolds

Paternal First Cousin

George Albert Reynolds Jr.

Paternal Uncle

Jean Eileen Reynolds Prior

Paternal First Cousin

Richard Allan Reynolds

Paternal First Cousin

Delmar Carol Reynolds

Paternal Uncle

Velma Carol Reynolds Crumpton Rhodes

Paternal First Cousin

Rexford Delmar Reynolds

Paternal First Cousin

Decima Viola Koontz Dohle

Maternal Aunt

Roberta Orvalyn Dohle Findon

Maternal First Cousin

Colleen Mae Dohle Phillips Gonyier Miller

Maternal First Cousin

Charles Wesley Dohle

Maternal First Cousin

Noel Philip Koontz

Maternal Uncle

Full name

Stanley Noel Koontz

Clyde Charles Koontz

Maternal First Cousin

Gary Philip Koontz

Maternal First Cousin

Richard Lee Koontz

Maternal First Cousin

Kenneth Ralph Koontz

Maternal First Cousin

Iris Fairie Koontz Sessions Page

Maternal Aunt

Rex Marvin Sessions

Maternal First Cousin

Ronald Ralph Sessions

Maternal First Cousin

Reginald Philip Sessions

Maternal First Cousin

Truman Andrew Koontz

Maternal Uncle

Bonnie Lee Koontz Elliott

Maternal First Cousin

Sharon Eileen Koontz Haskell Secrist

Maternal First Cousin

Harold Ralph Koontz

Maternal Uncle

Christy Louise Koontz Parris

Maternal First Cousin

Randall Ralph Koontz

Maternal First Cousin

George Albert Reynolds

Anna Eliza Horner Reynolds

Harry Clyde Koontz

Movia Murel Hurst Koontz

Gerson "Mike" Beatus Reynolds

Wanda Zada Koontz Reynolds

Otto Natzler

Gertrud Amon Natzler

Otto Natzler

Gertrud Amon Natzler

Gail Natzler

Donate

In honor of our beloved Gail, we invite you to contribute to a cause that was near and dear to their heart. Your generous donation will serve as a meaningful tribute, perpetuating the spirit of Gail by supporting a meaningful cause.
Together, let us continue the legacy of compassion and kindness that Gail embodied throughout their life.

International House at UC Berkeley
Our mission: To foster intercultural respect and understanding, lifelong friendships, and leadership skills for a more just and peaceful world.
https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form/?svcid=renxt&formId=c378000c-8043-4eb4-930f-c33843ccbb30&envid=p-j7BzeLX6z0ycCfgBR34nXQ&zone=usa

IES Abroad
We're passionate about making meaningful academic and cultural education opportunities available to students around the world.
https://iesabroad.thankyou4caring.org/Donate-Now

Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City
Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 9604
Ours is an inclusive religious community that inspires personal and spiritual growth. We care for one another. We strive for social justice, a healthy environment, and a peaceful world.
www.uustudiocity.org/donate

made with

Take life as it comes and death as it comes. Death is really beautiful; if it were a bad thing, God would not let it happen to us. It is really freedom, an entry into another, higher life."~ Paramahansa Yogananda

Obituary

Recognition

Timeline

Gallery

Memory wall

Family tree

Donate

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Take life as it comes and death as it comes. Death is really beautiful; if it were a bad thing, God would not let it happen to us. It is really freedom, an entry into another, higher life."
~ Paramahansa Yogananda