After studying metalwork at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, silversmith William Frederick spent decades producing beautiful and functional objects for clients in Chicago. This teapot exhibits a sleek, undecorated surface and organic curves, an aesthetic popular in midcentury silver due to the influence of Scandinavian designers. The cantilevered finial recalls Frederick’s background in engineering, while the harmonious sweep of the body and spout provides a dynamic appearance. The lack of hammer marks is atypical for Frederick’s work, however, as he often marked his pieces with explicit evidence of the maker’s hand.