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'{{Infobox artist | bgcolour = #E9967A | name = George E. Ohr | image = George E Ohr.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = The "Mad Potter of Biloxi" | birth_name = | birth_date = July 12, 1857 | birth_place = [[Biloxi, Mississippi]] | death_date = {{dda|1918|4|7|1857|7|12}} | death_place = | nationality = American | spouse = Josephine Gehring | field = [[Pottery]] | training = | movement = | works = | patrons = | influenced by = | influenced = | awards = | elected = | website = }} [[File:George E. Ohr pottery workshop.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Interior of Ohr's rebuilt workshop, 1901]] '''George Edgar Ohr''' (July 12, 1857&nbsp;–&nbsp;April 7, 1918) was an [[United States|American]] [[ceramic]] artist and the self-proclaimed "Mad Potter of Biloxi."<ref name="Puente1">{{Cite news | last = Puente| first = Maria| title = Storm exacts a cultural toll| newspaper = USA Today |date =October 21, 2005| url = http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-10-13-katrina-art_x.htm| accessdate = January 21, 2010}}</ref> In recognition of his innovative experimentation with modern clay forms from 1880–1910,<ref name="ArtCyc"> {{cite web | last = | first = | title = George E. Ohr art links | publisher = ArtCyclopedia | date = 2008-01-22 | url = http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/ohr_george_e.html | accessdate = 2008-05-06 }}</ref> some{{Who|date=July 2010}} consider him the father of the American Abstract-Expressionism movement.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} ==Personal life== George Ohr was born in [[Biloxi, Mississippi]], on July 12, 1857. He was the son of German immigrants who arrived in New Orleans c. 1850 and subsequently married and moved to Biloxi. George Ohr tried his hand at various trades before he became interested in ceramics in 1879, while an apprentice of Joseph Fortune Meyer. Ohr married Josephine Gehring of [[New Orleans]] on September 15, 1886. Ten children were born to the Ohrs, but unfortunately only 5 survived to adulthood. George Ohr died of throat cancer on April 7, 1918.<ref name="AskArt"> {{cite web | last = | first = | title = George Edgar b. Ohr (1857 - 1918) | publisher = AskArt | url = http://www.askart.com/askart/o/george_edgar_ohr/george_edgar_ohr.aspx | accessdate = May 6, 2008}}</ref> Ohr studied the potter's trade with Joseph Meyer in New Orleans, a potter whose family hailed from [[Alsace-Lorraine]], as did Ohr's.<ref name="MSart"> {{cite web | last = Carr Black | first = Patti | title = George E. Ohr: America’s First Art Potter | publisher = Mississippi Historical Society | date = May 2002 | url = http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/index.php?id=30 | accessdate = May 6, 2008}}</ref> Ohr's father had established the first [[blacksmith]] shop in [[Biloxi]] and his mother ran an early, popular [[grocery store]] there.<ref name="Collectics"> {{cite web | last = | first = | title = George E. Ohr Pottery & Ceramics Information & History | publisher = Collectics Reference & Collector Education | url = http://www.collectics.com/education_ohr.html | accessdate = May 6, 2008}}</ref> In his lifetime, Ohr created well over 10,000 known pots. He was a showman of the style of [[P.T. Barnum]], a contemporary.{{Says who|date=July 2010}} Ohr was an American figure at the turn of the 20th century. He called his work "unequaled, undisputed, unrivaled."<ref name="Smithsonian"> {{cite web | last = Watson | first = Bruce | title = The Mad Potter of Biloxi | publisher = [[Smithsonian|Smithsonian.com]] | date = February 1, 2004 | url = http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/10012481.html?page=1 | accessdate = May 6, 2008}}</ref> In 1884, Ohr exhibited and sold his pottery at the [[World Cotton Centennial|World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition]] in New Orleans.<ref name="odyssey"> {{cite web | last = Klein Albertson | first = Karla | title = The Odyssey of George E. Ohr | publisher = Antiques and the Arts Online | date = September 2, 2003 | url = http://antiquesandthearts.com/2003-09-02__12-27-05.html&page=2 | accessdate = May 6, 2008}}</ref> Of the hundreds of pieces he showed, Ohr boasted "no two alike."<ref name="apostle of individuality"> {{cite book | last = Ellison | first = Robert A., Jr. | others = Martin Eidelberg | title = George Ohr, Art Potter. The Apostle of Individuality | publisher = Scala | location = London | year = 2006 | isbn = 1-85759-425-8 }}</ref> The 1894 fire that burned most of Biloxi also destroyed Ohr's workshop, and it has been noted that Ohr's post-fire works show tremendous "energy" and "fluidity."<ref name="odyssey" /> ==Professional life== [[File:Ohr-OKeefeMuseum.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Ohr-O'Keefe Museum's "Pods" by Frank Gehry]] While Ohr had a healthy self-image, during his lifetime, many others in the art world{{Who|date=July 2010}} did not accept him or his pots, and considered him a boasting eccentric.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} In the early 1900s, the [[Arts and Crafts Movement]] and its leaders (such as [[William Morris]]) advocated that an artist should display control and perfection in all art forms. Ohr displayed little obvious perfectionism in his art or control in his person, antagonizing art leaders{{Who|date=July 2010}} nationally and political leaders{{Who|date=July 2010}} at home. Ohr's work is now seen as ground-breaking and a harbinger of the abstract sculpture and pottery that developed in the mid-20th century.{{By whom|date=July 2010}} Ohr's pieces are now relatively rare and highly coveted.<ref name="03auction"> {{cite web | last = Antiques and the Arts Editorial Content | first = | title = Record George Ohr Teapot Leads Craftsman Auction | publisher = Antiques and the Arts Online | date = February 11, 2003 | url = http://antiquesandthearts.com/AW0-02-11-2003-12-08-45 | accessdate = May 6, 2008}}</ref> A notable feature of Ohr's [[pottery]] is their thin walls, metallic glazes, and twisted, pinched shapes. To this day, potters marvel at Ohr's porcelain-thin walls and unusual glazes. Few have been able to replicate them using a pottery wheel, which is how Ohr made his works. Ohr dug much of his clay locally in southern Mississippi from the [[Tchoutacabouffa River]].<ref name="odyssey" /> Tchoutacabouffa is the [[Biloxi tribe|Biloxi tribe's]] word for "broken pot."<ref name="clairmont"> {{cite book | last = McKee | first = Jesse O. |author2=Velvelyn Blackwell Foster |author3=Stephen Young |author4=et al. | title = Mississippi: The Magnolia State | publisher = Clairmont Press | location = Atlanta | year = 2005 | url = http://www.clairmontpress.com/MS05/Textbook/MS%202004%2013.pdf | isbn = 1-56733-125-4 | page = 330 }}</ref> ==The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art== The [[Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art]] in Biloxi has a large permanent collection of Ohr's work. Three buildings of the new campus designed by [[Frank Gehry]] opened to the public on November 8, 2010, with several exciting exhibitions, including a large selection of work by George Ohr. In addition to the Gehry-designed buildings, the Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center is also open to the public. The museum campus was partially destroyed during [[Hurricane Katrina]] when a [[Grand Casino Biloxi|casino barge]] was washed onto the semi-constructed facility. As art lovers visit the eastern portion of the campus, they can view the construction that is planned to continue on the western part of the campus, beginning with the Center for Ceramics building, followed by the George E. Ohr "Pods," scheduled to be completed in 2012. From 2007 - 2010 ''Ohr Rising: The Emergence of an American Master'', a major national exhibition of Ohr pottery, traveled to Pomona, California; San Angelo, Texas; Alfred, New York; Toronto, Canada; and the Louisiana State University Museum of Art in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Many of those pieces, as well as several that have never been displayed, can now be seen at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art. [[File:Katrina-biloxi-miss-grand-casino2-2005.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Aerial view of the casino barge washed onto the site of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum in September 2005]] Two new Frank-Gehry designed buildings are scheduled to open in 2012. The City of Biloxi Center for Ceramics will open in late spring/early summer 2012 and will be used for classes in ceramics and other art. The Center for Ceramics will also contain community meeting areas. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== *{{cite book|last=Carr Black|first=Patti|title=American Masters of the Mississippi Gulf Coast: George Ohr, Dusti Bongé, Walter Anderson, Richmond Barthe|year=2009|publisher=Mississippi Arts Commission|location=Jackson, Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-205-4}} *{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Garth |last2=Ellison|first2=Robert A.|last3=Hecht|first3=Eugene |title=The Mad Potter of Biloxi: The Art & Life of George E. Ohr|year=1989|publisher=Abbeville Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-89659-927-7}} *{{cite book|last=Ellison|first=Robert A.|title=George Ohr, Art Potter: The Apostle of Individuality|year=2006|publisher=Scala|location=London|isbn=978-1-85759-425-6}} *{{cite book|last=Hecht|first=Eugene|title=After the Fire: George Ohr, an American genius|year=1994|publisher=Arts and Crafts Quarterly Press|location=Lambertville, NJ|isbn=978-0-9637896-9-3}} *{{cite book|last=Mohr|first=Richard D.|title=Pottery, Politics, Art: George Ohr and the Brothers Kirkpatrick|year=2003|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Urbana|isbn=978-0-252-02789-5}} ==External links== *[http://www.georgeohr.org/ Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art] {{Authority control|VIAF=47562808}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = Ohr, George Edgar | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Mad Potter of Biloxi | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American potter | DATE OF BIRTH = 1857-07-12 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Biloxi, Mississippi | DATE OF DEATH = 1918-04-07 | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohr, George}} [[Category:1857 births]] [[Category:1918 deaths]] [[Category:American potters]] [[Category:Cancer deaths in Mississippi]]'