Highlights: George Ohr, Art Potter -- The Apostle of Individuality by Staff from Antiques & Fine Art magazine

Named the "the Mad Potter of Biloxi" for his eccentric personality and radical potting forms, George Ohr (1857-1918) from Biloxi, Alabama, anticipated abstract expressionism by at least fifty years. Earning only minor success in his lifetime and quickly forgotten after his death, it was not until the 1970s that his work found a receptive audience when a New Jersey antiques dealer acquired thousands of Ohr's pots and introduced them to the New York art scene. Artist Robert Ellison tells what brief details are known of Ohr's life and discusses his evolving techniques. Intriguingly, Ohr produced a hundred or so pots whose neutral surfaces barely touched by color are a far cry from his signature style. Ellison surmises they were Ohr's final attempt to fit in with the mainstream. Illustrated with examples from Ellison's considerable collection, which he photographed himself, this is the perfect introduction to Ohr and his wildly distinctive work.