George Ohr Rising: The Emergence of an American Master The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts is hosting 
a traveling exhibit of George Ohr’s original works until June 22, 2008. The forty piece collection is on loan from the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi. The subtitle of the event, The Emergence of an American Master, refers to Ohr’s recovery from tragedy to create the most masterful work of his career. The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art experienced a similar tragedy, followed by a rebuilding period, after Hurricane Katrina partially destroyed its new building in 2005. The theme of tragedy to triumph is central to this exhibit.
George Ohr was born in Biloxi in 1857. He moved to New Orleans when a family friend offered him a job in a pottery studio, but he soon began traveling all over the United States and Canada learning more about ceramics. He returned to Biloxi to open his own studio, but his building and close to 10,000 pieces of his pottery were completely destroyed in a fire in 1894. His work after the fire was much more imaginative, and he began calling himself the “Mad Potter of Biloxi.” Because of his eccentric persona and over-the-top marketing, his work was not taken seriously until after his death. He is now considered a pioneer of modern art pottery. His work with modern forms and shapes was revolutionary.
The George Ohr Rising exhibit can be viewed at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in San Angelo, Texas,
Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for senior citizens. After the George Ohr collection leaves Texas, it will travel to the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art in Alfred, New York, where it will open October 21. There is also a George Ohr Rising virtual gallery online for those who cannot see it in person.
Additional George Ohr Pottery Resources:
Those are really beautiful works of art. I’ve only recently gotten into pottery; the pottery work of one of my friends was recently featured in a museum and it made me realize that there is so much to explore within this realm of art.
Those are really beautiful works of art. I’ve only recently gotten into pottery; the pottery work of one of my friends was recently featured in a museum and it made me realize that there is so much to explore within this realm of art.