Vase 1892 - 1902

This vase was made by George Ohr, an American potter active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ohr embraced experimentation, challenging the conventional forms and surface treatments of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Ohr's pottery, made in Biloxi, Mississippi, reflects the cultural context of the American South. The organic shapes and earthy tones might evoke the region’s natural landscapes. Ohr challenged the prevailing norms of the art world at the time. His works often have an intentionally crude or unfinished aesthetic. The fact that this vase is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art speaks to changing tastes and the evolving canon of art history. In order to fully understand a work like this, a historian might consult period journals, exhibition catalogs, and biographical accounts of the artist. Approaching art history in this way, we can appreciate how aesthetic value is always contingent on cultural and institutional contexts.