George E. Ohr (1857-1918), Vases, c. 1897-1900. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., United States
The self-proclaimed “Mad Potter of Biloxi,” George Edgar Ohr was born on the coast of Mississippi in 1857. Biloxi was known for its beaches, opera house, and fine seafood. By the 1890s, it added another popular tourist attraction: the Biloxi Art Pottery built and managed by Ohr. Before settling in his hometown, however, Ohr had apprenticed as a potter in nearby New Orleans and, in the early 1880s, had traveled through sixteen states, visiting ceramics studios, pottery shows and exhibitions to familiarize himself with the burgeoning American art pottery movement. Read more