George E. Ohr 1857–1918
Born to Alsatian and German immigrants in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1857, George Ohr learned the art of blacksmithing from his father, was apprenticed first to a file cutter, and then to a tinker, worked in chandlery and became a sailor, and otherwise knocked about until 1879, when his childhood friend Joseph Meyer invited him to New Orleans to learn the art of pottery. Meyer was a traditional potter, of the type common throughout the country prior to the industrial revolution and well into the 20th century in much of the rural south.
Ohr absorbed Meyer’s folk aesthetic and ultimately transformed it into something totally original. His vessels are technical tours de force, unexcelled in the thinness of their bodies and the control with which they are shaped—and misshaped; he threw perfect vessels and then folded and twisted them into unique and original forms.
Bombastic self-promotion was a habit with Ohr, one which alienated him from his more restrained contemporaries in the art pottery and Arts and Crafts movements. It took the form of signs, broadsides, and public demonstrations, such as the Mardi Gras float in which he appeared as an old man bearing a huge cross. He loved word games, and variously referred to himself as the Biloxi M.D. and P.M. (mud dauber and pot maker), The Unequalled Variety Potter, Crank, Etc. and most memorably, The Mad Potter of Biloxi. He used his own name in numerous variations, calling himself the Pot-Ohr, Biloxies Ohrmer Khayam and Greatest Ohr-nament and his shop, the Pot-Ohr-E. Many of his creations were inscribed with his memorable quotations, such as Potter sed-2-clay/B ware/and it was/a thing of the future.
Apart from novelties and functional wares, he sold very little of his work, in part because he doubted that potential buyers could value it as much as he. Over the years he accumulated nearly ten thousand "mud babies", which he boxed up around 1909 and put in the attic of his studio before turning it over to his sons, who converted the space into an automobile repair shop.
Alone in his aesthetic, understood and appreciated by too few of his contemporaries, he was quickly forgotten after he gave up making pottery around 1908. It was his consistent hope that his collection be purchased in its entirety by the Smithsonian as a gift to the nation. Prior to the rediscovery of this trove by an antique dealer in 1969, Ohr was known only from a few turn-of-the-century articles and a handful of works in various collections. The rediscovery of his work coincided with a renewed interest in the art pottery movement and necessitated a re-evaluation of turn-of-the century American art history. Most recently, The Museum of Modern Art furthered this reconsideration of his genius, and the importance of his work in the history of art and craft, by displaying six of his works in a room displaying modern masterpieces by Seurat, Gauguin, and Van Gogh.
Upcoming Lots George E. Ohr
100
George E. Ohr
Exceptional vase
estimate: $35,000–40,000
101
George E. Ohr
Exceptional and Tall vase
estimate: $35,000–40,000
102
George E. Ohr
Teapot
estimate: $5,000–7,000
103
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $7,000–10,000
104
George E. Ohr
Top hat
estimate: $2,000–3,000
105
George E. Ohr
Exceptional and Large vase
estimate: $25,000–35,000
106
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $15,000–20,000
107
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $10,000–15,000
108
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $12,000–16,000
109
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $9,000–12,000
110
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $2,500–3,500
111
George E. Ohr
Vessel
estimate: $2,000–3,000
112
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $3,500–4,500
113
George E. Ohr
Pitcher
estimate: $4,500–6,500
114
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $2,000–3,000
115
George E. Ohr
Puzzle mug
estimate: $700–1,000
116
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $8,000–12,000
117
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $10,000–15,000
118
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $9,000–14,000
119
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $9,000–14,000
164
George E. Ohr
Exceptional vase
estimate: $25,000–35,000
165
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $10,000–15,000
166
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $12,000–16,000
167
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $4,500–6,500
168
George E. Ohr
Vessel
estimate: $2,500–3,500
169
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $3,000–4,000
170
George E. Ohr
Vessel
estimate: $3,500–4,500
171
George E. Ohr
Vessel
estimate: $2,000–3,000
172
George E. Ohr
Novelty inkwell
estimate: $2,500–3,500
173
George E. Ohr
Pitcher
estimate: $3,000–4,000
174
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $2,000–3,000
175
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $2,000–3,000
176
George E. Ohr
Large six-handled tyg
estimate: $3,000–5,000
177
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $1,800–2,200
178
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $1,500–2,000
179
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $1,200–1,600
180
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $1,200–1,600
181
George E. Ohr
Vase
estimate: $1,200–1,600
182
George E. Ohr
Large jug
estimate: $2,500–3,500
Auction Results George E. Ohr
George E. Ohr
exceptional and very large vessel
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $100,000
George E. Ohr
snake vase
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $78,000
George E. Ohr
Large vase
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $62,500
George E. Ohr
Fine large double-sided vessel
estimate: $6,000–9,000
result: $46,875
George E. Ohr
Tall vase
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $40,000
George E. Ohr
exceptional large vase
estimate: $25,000–35,000
result: $40,000
George E. Ohr
Large two-handled vase
estimate: $30,000–40,000
result: $37,500
George E. Ohr
Exceptional large coupe
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $37,500
George E. Ohr
Large pitcher
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $35,000
George E. Ohr
Two-handled baluster vase
estimate: $28,000–32,000
result: $32,500
George E. Ohr
pitcher
estimate: $12,000–16,000
result: $30,000
George E. Ohr
Large coupe
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $27,500
George E. Ohr
Tall vase
estimate: $8,000–10,000
result: $27,500
George E. Ohr
large two-sided vase
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $25,000
George E. Ohr
vase
estimate: $6,000–9,000
result: $25,000
George E. Ohr
vase
estimate: $8,000–10,000
result: $25,000
George E. Ohr
vase
estimate: $5,000–7,500
result: $25,000
George E. Ohr
lobed and folded bisque pitcher
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $23,750
George E. Ohr
vase
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $21,250
George E. Ohr
vase
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $21,250
George E. Ohr
vase
estimate: $3,000–4,000
result: $21,250
George E. Ohr
large pinched bisque pitcher
estimate: $1,200–1,800
result: $20,000
George E. Ohr
vase
estimate: $7,500–9,500
result: $20,000
George E. Ohr
exceptional large coupe
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $20,000