The Mad Potter of Biloxi: The Art and Life of George E. Ohr

Misunderstood and unappreciated during his lifetime (1857-1918), George Ohr, America's archetypal artist-potter, pushed the form of the vessel beyond mere funtion to the point of abstraction. Today, the genius of this radical and sophisticated artist has finally been recognized. His thin-walled, paper-light pots, labelled grotesque in his day, are now seen as a tour de force of delicacy and restraint and a stunning exploration of the plasticity of clay. Ruffling, twisting, tearing and collapsing his fragile pots, Ohr anticipated much of what we take for granted in contemporary art and ceramics. Illustrated with 140 colour images of his most important pieces, this volume, winner of the George Wittenborn Award for outstanding art books for the Art Libraries Society of North America, presents a major study of Ohr. Woven together, the text and images confirm a judgement the "Mad Potter" once passed on himself: "Unequalled!, Unrivalled!, Undisputed!" he wrote on a sign outside his shop. "Greatest Art Potter on Earth!".