Ohr Archives

William Woodward painted a water color portrait of George Ohr, c. 1890. Woodward and his brother Ellsworth Woodward formed the New Orleans Art Pottery on Baronne Street. They hired Joseph Meyer as the potter and George Ohr came to assist him. William Woodward, George Ohr and Joseph Meyer remained in contact for years and all are buried in the Biloxi Cemetery.

George Ohr created an assortment of business cards. He was never hesitant to self-promote "The Mad Potter of Biloxi" as the greatest art potter.

The Mad Potter paid for an ad in "The Philistine: A Periodical of Protest" produced by socialist and anarchist Elbert Hubbard, who used the publication to promote his ideas of personal freedom.

George Ohr showed his work in the Mississippi Section of the Mines and Metallurgy Building at the Louisiana Purchase International Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904, which celebrated the centennial of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Foreign countries and states, including Mississippi, were represented at the fair, which opened April 30, 1904 and closed December 1, 1904.

George Ohr displayed his work at the Louisiana Purchase International Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904. Pieces made by Ohr at the fair can be found in various collections, inscribed "Expo Clay, 1904." Unlike the other world's fairs Ohr attended, the St. Louis fair concentrated more on individual artists instead of the larger pottery companies. The merit of Ohr's work was recognized by his winning a silver medal.

Josephine Ohr wrote to Dr. Calvin S. Brown of the University of Mississippi in 1925. Brown had become interested in Ohr's work and had corresponded with Ohr before his death. Josephine sent a gift of "burned babies" to Brown.

A letter to Dr. Calvin Brown dated 1926, in which Josephine Ohr tells of George's death and states that he had worked for a while in Fairhope, Alabama on the Mobile Bay.

Notes from Dr. Calvin Brown of the University of Mississippi, in which he states that he was given pieces of Ohr pottery during a visit to Josephine Ohr in 1925.

Dolores "Bobby" Davidson Smith organized the "Second Showing" of Ohr's pottery, c. 1967, and composed an essay to include in the program. Bobby was an advocate for the importance of Ohr's work and encouraged Ohr's heirs to construct a "bunker" in which to store the pottery to keep it safe from hurricanes.

Robert Blasberg was a friend of James Carpenter, who purchased the Ohr estate. Blasberg contacted Bobby Davidson Smith and they had an ongoing correspondence about Ohr in the 1960s. Their correspondence was not as innocent as it seemed on the part of Blasberg. Ultimately Blasberg's friend James Carpenter purchased the Ohr estate and Blasberg wrote "George E. Ohr and His Biloxi Art Pottery" in 1973, followed by "The Unknown Ohr" in 1986.