>> Man: AN ECCENTRIC ARTIST LIVING IN A SMALL TOWN JUST SUDDENLY STOPS DOING HIS WORK AND HORDES IT AWAY, CONVINCED THAT POSTERITY IS GOING TO UNDERSTAND HIS WORK.

THAT HIS WHOLE LIFE WILL BE JUSTIFIED SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, THAT'S EXACTLY THE WAY IT TURNS OUT.

I MEAN THAT'S A GREAT STORY.

>> Announcer: THIS MISSISSIPPI MASTERS PROFILE IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE PHIL HARDIN FOUNDATION OF MERIDIAN, DEDICATED TO IMPROVING EDUCATION FOR MISSISSIPPIANS.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY THE MISSISSIPPI ARTS COMMISSION, AND BY MEMBERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI EDUCATIONAL NETWORK.

>> Actor Portrayal of George Ohr: "I AM MAKING POTS FOR ART'S SAKE, GOD'S SAKE, THE FUTURE GENERATIONS AND BY PRESENT INDICATIONS FOR MY OWN SATISFACTION.

BUT WHEN I AM GONE MY WORK WILL BE PRIZED, HONORED AND CHERISHED."

GEORGE EDGAR OHR, 1899, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI.

>> Narrator: HE WAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S VISIONARY ARTISTS, TURN OF THE CENTURY POTTER, GEORGE OHR.

HE PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES OF STYLE, POPULAR AT HIS TIME, INTO THE NEXT CENTURY.

GEORGE SAW NO LIMITS IN THE VESSEL FORM.

>> OHR PROBABLY WAS THE FIRST ABSTRACT ARTIST IN THE UNITED STATES.

>> BECAUSE HERE HE WAS, PERHAPS THE MOST BRILLIANT CERAMIST IN AMERICA OF THE 20th CENTURY.

HE KNEW IT, MAYBE THREE OR FOUR OTHER PEOPLE KNEW IT, BUT HE JUST COULD NOT COMMUNICATE THIS TO HIS COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

>> WHEN YOU ARE CONFRONTED BY A PIECE OF OHR AND YOU SAY, "OH, MY GOD."

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LOOKING AT A POT.

>> Narrator on tape: This is a land vibrantly aglow with nature's colors.

A land of tropical splendor.

A land of year around golf and of rewarding fishing.

A land of scenic delights... >> Narrator: It's the 1960's in America's Riviera... New Jersey antique car dealer, James Carpenter, has been visiting the children of the late potter, George Ohr, at their automobile repair shop in Biloxi.

>> Narrator on tape: This is America's Riviera... >> Narrator: THE OHR BROTHERS HAD INHERITED OVER 5,000 PIECES OF THEIR FATHER'S WORK WITH A STIPULATION THAT THEY NOT SELL THE STORED POTTERY FOR 50 YEARS.

OHR DIED BELIEVING THE FUTURE WOULD BRING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HIS ART.

HE WAS DETERMINED TO CONTROL HIS IMMORTALITY.

JAMES CARPENTER, INTRIGUED BY THE COLLECTION, BEGAN SERIOUSLY NEGOTIATING WITH THE FAMILY TO BUY THE POTTERY IN 1968.

THE ENTIRE LIFE'S WORK OF THE POTTER OHR, A SINGLE COLLECTION UNLIKE ANYTHING EVER SEEN IN THE UNITED STATES, WAS TAKEN FROM THE GULF COAST TOWN OF BILOXI TO NEW JERSEY IN THE EARLY 1970's.

BEFORE CARPENTER'S SERENDIPITOUS VISIT TO BILOXI, ART HISTORIANS LARGELY HAD FORGOTTEN GEORGE OHR.

IF THE DUST-COVERED COLLECTION HAD NOT BEEN UNEARTHED IN A CINDER BLOCK BUILDING, TAKEN OUT OF BILOXI AND OFFERED TO THE WORLD, OHR'S BOLD PROPHECY OF FUTURE FAME WOULD NEVER HAVE COME TRUE.

>> Auctioneer: $15,000 bid now... $15,000 $15,000 a guest on the phone.

now, $16,000... >> Narrator: THE POTTERY OF GEORGE OHR IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE SOME OF THE MOST VALUABLE CERAMICS IN THE UNITED STATES.

ALMOST 20 YEARS AFTER CARPENTER PAID THE FAMILY APPROXIMATELY $50,000 FOR THE COLLECTION, ESSENTIALLY LESS THAN $100 PER POT, SOME OF GEORGE OHR'S GRANDER WORKS SELL FOR MORE THAN THAT INDIVIDUALLY.

AS MUCH AS $65,000 A PIECE.

OHR KNEW VERY LITTLE ACCEPTANCE OF HIS WORK.

WHEN HE CEASED TO CREATE POTTERY AROUND 1910, IT ENDED ONE OF THE MOST ENGAGING, ECCENTRIC AND ULTIMATELY MISUNDERSTOOD CAREERS OF ANY AMERICAN ARTIST.

THE MAD POTTER OF BILOXI WITH HIS BIZARRE BEHAVIOR AND PECULIAR POTTERY IS AS ENIGMATIC TODAY, A CENTURY LATER, AS HE WAS WHEN HE WAS ALIVE.

>> Ohr re-enactment: I'M QUAINT AND VERY QUEER.

SO IS MY WORK, SO I APPEAR.

AS I WRITE AND LIKEWISE TALK AND WORK AND OTHERWISE I COULD NOT BE.

I AM NO POET AND JUST MUD AND TURN MYSELF POT-OHR-Y.

>> Narrator: GEORGE OHR WAS THE SON OF IMMIGRANTS.

HIS GERMAN MOTHER AND FRENCH ALSATIAN FATHER FIRST ARRIVED IN NEW ORLEANS IN THE EARLY 1850's.

FROM THERE THEY TRAVELED THE SHORT DISTANCE TO BILOXI, ONE OF AMERICA'S OLDEST SETTLEMENTS.

IN 1857 THE FUTURE POTTER WAS BORN ON DELANEY STREET ON JULY 12.

HE WAS THE SECOND OF FIVE CHILDREN.

HIS FATHER, GEORGE OHR, SENIOR WAS THE LOCAL BLACKSMITH; A TRADE HE LEARNED FROM HIS FATHER.

HIS MOTHER JOANNA RAN A LOCAL GROCERY STORE.

HIS HARD-WORKING PARENTS BOUGHT SOME DOWNTOWN LAND AND STARTED A FAMILY.

FROM THE BEGINNING, OHR STOOD APART FROM HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

HE KNEW HE WAS A STRANGE BIRD.

>> Ohr re-enactment: I CAME ON THE SECOND SCHOONER AND KNOCKED THE NOSE OUT OF JOINT OF THE FIRST ONE AND KEPT IT SO.

AS THE OTHER THREE STORKS THAT CAME IN TOWN WERE NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT, AND THAT COMPLETED THE PROGRAM.

THREE HENS, ONE ROOSTER AND A DUCK.

I'M THAT DUCK.

I DON'T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED, BUT IT DID AND WAS NO FAULT OF MINE.

>> Garth Clark, Ceramics Historian: OH HE USED WORDS WONDERFULLY.

HIS WAS A VERY CREATIVE USE OF LANGUAGE.

AND HE WROTE IN A VERY FRESH WAY IN BURSTS AND STARTS.

IT WAS TREMENDOUS ENERGY IN HIS WRITING.

>> Ohr re-enactment: SUPPOSE FIVE HEN EGGS WERE PUT UNDER A BROOD AND SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE MADE A MISTAKE AND GOT A DUCK EGG IN THE JOB LOT.

THAT DUCK IS GOING TO BE IN SOME VERY HOT AQUA.

>> Narrator: OHR WAS SENT AS A YOUNG TEENAGER TO A PRIVATE GERMAN SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS.

HE LASTED ONE YEAR.

THERE WOULD BE NO MORE FORMAL EDUCATION.

HE WAS EXPECTED TO FOLLOW HIS FATHER INTO THE FAMILY BLACK SMITHING BUSINESS.

WHILE HE DUTIFULLY CREATED THE ORNAMENTAL IRON GATES, HE COULDN'T SHAKE HIS EMERGING ROLE AS THE FAMILY SCAPEGOAT.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: AS IT WAS, I HAD A BIG LOAD TO HAUL AND SURVIVED MANY CATASTROPHES BESIDES GETTING ALL THE LICKINGS OF THE FAMILY.

AS EVERYTHING THAT WAS EVER DONE WRONG, OR HAPPENED AROUND THREE CORNERS, OR IF IT DID NOT RAIN, OR RAINED TOO MUCH, OR THE CLOCK WOULDN'T TICK, OR SOMEONE'S HORSE RAN AWAY, AND ONE THOUSAND OTHER THINGS WENT DEMOCRAT, I CAUGHT HELL FOR IT.

>> Narrator: OHR FINALLY HAD ENOUGH.

HE LEFT HIS FATHER AND WORKED WITH OTHER TRADESMEN AT ALL SORTS OF JOBS PROVIDING HIM WITH LOW WAGES, LONG HOURS AND LITTLE ELSE.

>> Clark: BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE OTHER EXPERIENCES WAS DEFINITELY HIS WORK AS A BLACKSMITH.

BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE HANDLES THAT IS PURE WROUGHT IRON.

>> Narrator: BY THE AGE OF 20 AND BY HIS OWN COUNT, GEORGE OHR HAD HELD 14 DIFFERENT JOBS.

NONE HAD SATISFIED HIM.

>> Eugene Hecht, Biographer: HE WAS A RATHER MISCHIEVOUS, UNSETTLED YOUNG MAN AND IT WAS ONLY SOME TIME AROUND 1879 HE GOT AN INVITATION TO COME AND WORK WITH A POTTER WHO HAD BEEN A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, A MAN WHO WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLDER THAN OHR.

A GUY NAMED JOSEPH MEYER - - JOSEPH FORTUNE MEYER.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: THAT LETTER DONE IT.

$10 A MONTH AND A CHANCE TO SWIPE A TRADE.

AS USUAL, I PULLED UP STAKES STOLE A FREIGHT TRAIN AT 1165 AND P.D.Q.

WENT UNDER THE NIGHT AND OVER TERRA FIRMA.

AND I DON'T THINK, UP TO THIS DAY, THAT SUPERINTENDENT MARSHALL OF THE L&M RAILROAD EVER SUSPECTED OR THOUGHT OF SEARCHING ME FOR HIS FREIGHT TRAIN.

>> Narrator: ONCE IN NEW ORLEANS, UTILITARIAN POTTER JOSEPH MEYER, TAUGHT OHR THE BASICS OF THROWING CLAY.

>> Robert Tannen, Artist/Collector: MEYER WAS NOWHERE NEAR AS TECHNICALLY OR CREATIVELY ABLE AS OHR WAS.

BUT STILL, HE WAS A MORE TRADITIONAL KIND OF CERAMIC ARTIST AND HE WAS TEACHING THE SKILLS THAT A CERAMIC ARTIST MUST KNOW.

BUT OHR, THEN, TOOK THAT SO MUCH FURTHER.

HE TOOK THE BASIC KNOWLEDGE THAT HE LEARNED FROM MEYER AND APPLIED IT IN WAYS THAT MEYER HAD NO IDEA ABOUT AND COULDN'T EVEN RELATE TO, PERHAPS.

>> Ojo Ohr, Son: MEYER, HE USED TO BE A - - HE COULD MAKE POTS TOO BUT NONE OF THEM COULD MAKE THEM LIKE MY DAD, THAT THIN.

NONE OF THEM.

>> Narrator: IN NEW ORLEANS, HIS HANDS IN CLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME, OHR FOUND HIS CALLING.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: WHEN I FOUND THE POTTER'S WHEEL, I FELT IT ALL OVER LIKE A WILD DUCK IN WATER.

>> Narrator: ONCE AT THE WHEEL GEORGE OHR WAS TRANSFORMED, AND IN TURN HE REINVENTED THE VESSEL FORM.

FROM THAT FIRST TIME UNTIL HIS DEATH, THE POTTER OHR STOOD UP FOR WHAT HE BELIEVED IN AND SAT DOWN AT THE WHEEL AND CREATED IT.

WHAT HE MADE WHILE AT THAT WHEEL, NO ONE HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE.

NO ONE HAS SEEN IT SINCE.

JOSEPH MEYER AND GEORGE OHR MADE THE TUPPERWARE OF THE 1800's, INEXPENSIVE AND FUNCTIONAL BOWLS, PITCHERS AND WATER COOLERS.

>> Clark: AND HE DIDN'T MAKE WHAT POTTERS IN THOSE DAYS CALLED FANCY WARE.

FANCY WARE WAS THE PRETTIER GLAZED WARE WHICH YOU PUT IN YOUR PARLOR AND YOU WOULD KILL YOU CHILD SHOULD THEY EVER CHIP OR BREAK THE PIECE.

THAT WAS LEFT TO MORE SOPHISTICATED POTTERS.

HE MADE VERY, VERY ORDINARY WARE, VERY BASIC WHICH REQUIRED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PHYSICAL LABOR AND GAVE HIM VERY LITTLE MONEY IN RETURN.

>> Narrator: ALTHOUGH GEORGE OHR WOULD LATER MOVE AWAY FROM NEW ORLEANS AND DEVELOP HIS OWN STYLE, A STYLE THAT SURPASSED THE FANCY WARE OF HIS DAY, HE OFTEN RETURNED TO THE CRESCENT CITY TO THROW POTS WITH JOSEPH MEYER.

>> George Febres, Artist: I MEAN NEW ORLEANS WAS A BIG CITY, HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CITY.

IT HAD EVERYTHING TO OFFER.

AND THE LITTLE WE KNOW ABOUT GEORGE OHR, I'M SURE HE WOULD HAVE FOUND NEW ORLEANS JUST LIKE WE FIND IT TODAY, TO HIS LIKING.

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF NEW ORLEANS FOR OHR WAS HE WAS ABLE TO SEE A FEW BOOKS AND TALK TO PEOPLE WHO KNEW MORE THAN HE DID.

>> Narrator: A STORY STILL CIRCULATES TO THIS DAY ABOUT GEORGE OHR ASSISTING MEYER AT NEWCOMB POTTERY YEARS LATER.

THE BUSINESS WAS PART OF THE VERY PROPER WOMEN'S COLLEGE, SOPHIE NEWCOMB.

GEORGE OHR NEEDED THE MONEY PROVIDED BY AN UNOFFICIAL POSITION AT NEWCOMB.

THE FLIRTATIOUS POTTER WAS IN HIS ELEMENT.

>> Hecht: HE MUST HAVE HAD A GOOD TIME YOU CAN IMAGINE GEORGE.

HE WAS A RATHER PICTURESQUE FELLOW.

HE LIKED A GOOD JOKE.

HE SMILED AT THE WOMEN.

AND HERE HE WAS SURROUNDED BY ADULATING YOUNG LADIES.

>> Dolores Davidson-Smith, Family Friend: SO, IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE HE MAY HAVE BEEN TEMPTED TO PINCH ONE OF THE BLOSSOMS OF NEWCOMB.

BUT I CAN'T REALLY SEE IT, ACCEPT AS BEING VERY OVER-RATED AND FUNNY AS ALL GET OUT.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: (giggling) I TELL YOU, I'VE HAD SOME FUN IN MY 44 YEARS RUNNING AWAY FROM DANGER AND GETTING CAUGHT WITH OPEN ARMS EVERY TIME.

>> Bill Dunlap, Artist: I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING TIMELESS ABOUT SOMEONE WHO IS SO OBSESSED WITH WHAT THEY DO THAT THEY DON'T REALLY GIVE A DAMN WHAT ANYBODY THINKS ABOUT THEM.

THEY AREN'T CONVENTIONAL.

I MEAN MR. FAULKNER TALKED ABOUT THE DOWNFALL OF THE SNOPES AS BEING WHEN THEY STARTED TRYING TO BE RESPECTABLE AND STOPPED BEING THEMSELVES AND THEY WERE WORTHLESS.

I DON'T THINK RESPECTABILITY EVER CROSSED OHR'S MIND.

IT'S NOT A CONCEPT HE WAS CONVERSANT WITH AND THANK GOD FOR IT.

>> Narrator: FROM THE BEGINNING OHR CARED LITTLE ABOUT THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE NATIONAL ARTS COMMUNITY.

VICTORIAN ARTS EDUCATORS DICTATED THAT FOR BUDDING TALENTS TO SUCCEED THEY MUST HAVE FORMAL ART TRAINING.

GEORGE OHR HAD NEITHER THE SOCIAL STANDING NOR THE FINANCES FOR THAT.

INSTEAD AFTER HIS BRIEF APPRENTICESHIP WITH MEYER, HE BEGAN HIS EDUCATION IN BOHEMIAN STYLE: ON THE ROAD.

>> Hecht: HE MAKES IT HIS BUSINESS TO LEARN THE CRAFT BY ACTUALLY GOING THERE, SEEING WHAT'S GOING ON, PUTTING HIS HANDS ON THE MATERIALS, EXAMINING WHAT EACH POTTER DOES.

AND WHEN HE COMES BACK, HE COMES BACK WITH ALL THEIR TRICKS.

>> Narrator: HE WORKED THE WHEELS AND FIRED THE KILNS OF VARIOUS REGIONAL POTTERIES CREATING A RARE AND INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE AND ONE UNLIKE THAT OF ANY OTHER AMERICAN POTTER.

>> Clark: THE FASCINATING THING IS HIM PACKING HIS SUITCASE AND DECIDING HE NEEDED TO HAVE THIS EDUCATION.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WORK, THE EVIDENCE OF HIS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT OF HIS OWN ATTEMPT TO EDUCATE HIMSELF IS EVERYWHERE.

TEAPOTS THAT YOU CAN PUT UP AGAINST 18th CENTURY STAFFORDSHIRE TEAPOTS AND THEY LOOK JUST TOO CLOSE FOR IT TO BE ACCIDENTAL.

THERE ARE POTS THAT LOOK EXTRAORDINARILY JAPANESE.

THERE ARE MANY INFLUENCES THAT APPEAR IN THE WORK AND THIS IS WHAT SEPARATES HIM FROM A FOLK ARTIST.

HE WAS JUST FAR TOO SOPHISTICATED AND FAR TOO WELL EDUCATED IN HIS MEDIUM.

>> Narrator: ALTHOUGH HE TRAVELED CONSIDERABLY DURING THOSE TWO YEARS OF THE EARLY 1880's, OHR WAS STILL INFLUENCED BY EVENTS AT HOME IN BILOXI.

ONE SUCH EVENT WAS IRISHMAN, OSCAR WILDE'S VISIT TO CONFEDERACY PRESIDENT, JEFFERSON DAVIS, AT HIS BILOXI HOME, BEAUVOIR.

WILDE EXPRESSED HIS THOUGHTS ON THE ARTS OF THE PUBLIC DURING HIS VISIT.

>> Patti Carr Black, Historian: OSCAR WILDE WAS LECTURING ON DECORATIVE ARTS IN HIS SPEECH ON THE COAST.

HE WAS URGING PEOPLE TO CULTIVATE THE BEAUTIFUL LOCAL CRAFTS AND USE THEM IN THEIR HOMES.

HE FELT VERY STRONGLY ABOUT EDUCATING THE PUBLIC TASTE TO WHAT THE "BEAUTIFUL" WAS.

HE SAID THAT EVEN THE SIMPLEST POT SHOULD SHOW THE JOY OF THE POTTER.

AND I THINK THIS WAS AN OBVIOUS QUALITY IN OHR'S WORK.

AND I'M SURE HIS PUBLIC REALIZED THAT.

>> Narrator: OSCAR WILDE'S NATURALISM WAS IN IRONIC CONTRAST TO THE INCREASING INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE YOUNG COUNTRY.

AND AS A RESULT OF HIS TRAVELS OHR CLEARLY SAW THIS CHANGING AMERICAN LANDSCAPE.

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WAS BOOMING.

MASS PRODUCTION QUICKLY BROUGHT ABOUT THE END OF THE SMALL TOWN POTTER, ESPECIALLY IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED NORTH.

GEORGE OHR RAILED AGAINST THE PRODUCTION LINE APPROACH TO CERAMICS.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: MASTERS SELL THEIR WORK, SERVANTS SELL THEIR TIME.

ONE WORKS FOR LOVE, THE OTHER FOR LUCRE, C.O.D.

>> Narrator: AMERICAN ARTISTS, AS A GROUP, REBELLED AGAINST INDUSTRIAL DECORATIVE OBJECTS AND IN THE PROCESS FORMED THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT.

IT WAS SIMILAR TO THE DRIVE BY ENGLAND'S WILLIAM MORRIS THAT CALLED FOR A GREATER APPRECIATION OF THE INDIVIDUALLY CREATED HANDMADE ITEM.

>> Eugene Hecht, Biographer: HAND CRAFTSMANSHIP IS A VIRTUE.

YOU MANUFACTURE BY HAND TO UPLIFT THE WORKERS.

YOU SELL TO OTHER WORKERS TO BRIGHTEN AND MAKE THEIR LIVES MEANINGFUL.

BUT YOU CAN'T SELL AND STAY IN BUSINESS UNLESS YOU MAKE A GREAT MANY THINGS.

SO VERY QUICKLY, BOTH IN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES, EVEN THE MOST SENSITIVE PEOPLE, EVEN THE PEOPLE WHO RECOGNIZED WHAT THE MACHINE IS DOING, END UP SELLING THEIR SOULS.

END UP SELLING THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT AND MANUFACTURING.

>> Narrator: SOME IN THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT COMPROMISED THEIR IDEALS AND ACCEPTED THE ASSEMBLY LINE IN ORDER TO MAKE A LIVING.

OHR NEVER DID.

>> Dunlap: HE WAS NOT WILLING TO GIVE IT UP TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

HE WAS NOT WILLING TO LET MASS PRODUCED WORKS TAKE THE PLACE OF WHAT HE WAS ABOUT WHICH WAS THE ONE OF A KIND HAND MADE OBJECT.

WHETHER HE ARTICULATED THESE THINGS OR NOT, HE KNEW THEM.

HE SENSED THEM AS AN ARTIST.

HE WORKED EVEN HARDER.

>> Narrator: ARTISTS AND CRITICS OF THE TIME HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY ACCEPTING GEORGE OHR'S POTTERY BECAUSE OF GEORGE OHR'S PERSONALITY.

TO THEM HE WAS A CARICATURE: UNTALENTED, NOISY AND GROTESQUE.

>> Clark: POTTERS IN THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT WERE A PRETTY CONSTIPATED LOT.

BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS ALSO AN EASTERN ESTABLISHMENT AND YOU WOULD HAVE ALL THE BIGOTRY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SOUTH TOGETHER WITH THIS MAN'S SORT OF LOWLY BACKGROUND AND LACK OF OBVIOUS REFINEMENT AND EDUCATION.

HE COULD NEVER HAVE FITTED INTO THAT GROUP.

>> Hecht: HE WAS - - I HESITATE TO SAY THE ONLY - - BUT HE WAS THE MOST OUTSTANDING, CERTAINLY SINGLE COMMITTED ARTS AND CRAFTS PERSON.

AND YET, IRONY UPON IRONY, THE COMMUNITY OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT REJECTED OHR.

HE WAS TOO FAR FROM THE MAIN STREAM.

HIS WORK WAS TOO SHOCKING, TOO UNCONVENTIONAL.

THE FORMS WERE WONDERFULLY CRAFTED BUT... TOO FRIGHTENING, TOO MUCH DIFFERENCE.

SO HE'S REJECTED BY ALL OF THE SPOKESMEN OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT.

>> Woman: "MR. OHR INDEED SUFFERS FROM HIS EFFORTS TO MAKE IT ORIGINAL AT ANY COST OF BEAUTY AND ASCETIC CHARM."

ETHEL HUDSON, 1905 >> Man: "OHR, A NATURALLY BRIGHT, EVEN BRILLIANT, MAN HAS BEEN LED TO THE BELIEF THAT THE WAY FOR HIM TO OBTAIN PUBLICITY IS THROUGH THE CHANEL OF PREPOSTEROUS ADVERTISING, WHICH DOES HIM MORE HARM THAN GOOD."

CHINA GLASS AND POTTERY REVIEW JUNE, 1899.

>> Man 2: "GEORGE OHR IS ENTIRELY WITHOUT ART TRAINING AND ALTOGETHER LACKING IN TASTE."

FREDRICK HERTINREID, ARTS & CRAFTS POTTER.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: SCAT!

>> Febres: I MEAN EVERYBODY SAID SOMETHING ABOUT HIM, EVERYBODY IMPORTANT DURING HIS LIFETIME.

AND NOW 70 OR 80 YEARS AFTER... NO INDEED HE WAS NOT IGNORED AT ALL.

GOD KNOWS THAT WAS SOMETHING HE WOULD NOT HAVE PUT UP WITH.

>> Narrator: AFTER HIS TRAVELS DURING THE EARLY 1880's, OHR SETTLED IN BILOXI.

DESPITE HIS UNUSUAL OUTLOOK, THE NATIVE SON SURVIVED WITHIN THE SMALL COMMUNITY.

HOWEVER, HE WAS NOT UNDERSTOOD.

>> Glenn L. Swetman, Retired Banker: WELL, THE FACT IS, NOBODY BUT GEORGE OHR THOUGHT HE WAS A GENIUS.

>> Ohr: OH, A LOT OF THEM THOUGHT HE HAD JUMPED THE TRACK, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

BUT HELL HE WAS A HUNDRED YEARS AHEAD OF ALL OF THEM.

WHEN IT CAME TO BRAINS, HE HAD THEM.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: I'M NOT AFRAID OF MYSELF OR TO BE ORIGINAL OR OTHERWISE.

AN AMERICAN CONSIDERS ALL OF THE OUTSIDE AND IN BEING A FOOL OR A POTTER IS MY PRIVILEGE, AND I AM PROUD OF THAT LIBERTY.

>> Clark: ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I GET ASKED FROM TIME TO TIME IS, "WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED GEORGE OHR?"

AND THE CHANCES ARE... QUITE POSSIBLY THE ANSWER WOULD HAVE BEEN NO.

>> Agnes Grinstead Anderson, Retired Teacher: I DON'T THINK PEOPLE WERE TOO COMPLIMENTARY IN THEIR THOUGHTS OF GEORGE OHR.

HE WAS TOO OBSTREPEROUS A PERSON.

>> Clark: FROM A DISTANCE HE IS VERY ENTERTAINING.

I THINK FACE TO FACE ON A DAILY BASIS HE WAS PROBABLY A VERY DIFFICULT MAN TO GET ON WITH.

>> Anderson: HE WAS APT TO HAVE NO REGARD FOR MRS. BAILEY'S FLOWERS WHEN HE RODE HIS BICYCLE.

>> Narrator: 1883.

NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ANYWHERE THOUGHT, GEORGE OHR WAS GOING TO BE BILOXI'S FULL-TIME POTTER IN RESIDENCE.

HE CONSTRUCTED HIS WORKSHOP WITH THE RELUCTANT SUPPORT OF HIS FIRST AND ONLY BENEFACTORS: HIS PARENTS.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: I WAS A DEADBEAT ALL RIGHT.

THE OLD MAN KICKED LIKE A CIRCUS MULE AS TO THE AMOUNT AND SIZE OF THE STUFF I WAS SWIPING.

BUT MOMMA SAID, "LET THE BOY GO ON AND WATCH HIM."

>> Narrator: GEORGE THREW HIMSELF INTO CREATING HIS OWN ENTERPRISE: THE BILOXI ART AND NOVELTY POTTERY.

>> Clark: HE WAS CHRONOLOGICALLY THE FIRST STUDIO POTTER IN AMERICA.

HE DID EVERYTHING HIMSELF INCLUDING SAILING UP THE RIVER TO DIG HIS CLAY AND BRING IT BACK.

HE THREW HIS POTS.

HE FIRED HIS POTS.

HE DEVISED THE GLAZES.

HE DID EVERYTHING.

>> Robert Tannen, Artist/Collector: THE SOURCE OF HIS CLAY WERE THE RIVERS AROUND BILOXI WHICH ARE NOT KNOWN AS A PLACE WHERE GREAT CLAY COMES FROM FOR MAKING CERAMICS.

BUT SOMEHOW HE MADE THE MOST DELICATE, MOST EXTRAORDINARY CERAMICS THAT ARE KNOWN OUT OF MUD FROM THE TCHOUTACABOUFFA AND OTHER RIVERS OF THE AREA.

>> Narrator: "THE BLACKSMITH POTTER" AS HE WAS CALLED BY THE LOCALS, PEDDLED HIS EARLY FUNCTIONAL WARE ALONG THE STREETS OF BILOXI.

AT THE SAME TIME, HE WAS STOCKPILING HIS BEST WORK FOR A SPECIAL EVENT.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: THE FIRST YEAR I GOT ENOUGH DIMES TO COVER MY FRAME BUT NOT TO FILL IT UP.

THAT WAS THE YEAR OF THE NEW ORLEANS COTTON CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION.

I HAD OVER 600 PIECES THERE.

NO TWO ALIKE.

>> Narrator: THE WORLD'S INDUSTRIAL AND COTTON CENTENNIAL OF 1884.

IT WAS TO BRING TO NEW ORLEANS ALL THE WONDER AND WEALTH OF MODERN INVENTIONS AND RENEWED COMMERCE.

THERE WAS HOPE THAT IT WOULD HEAL THE CITY'S DAMAGED POST -WAR ECONOMY.

THE EXPOSITION CREATED IN THE EBULLIENT OHR A PASSION FOR FAIRS THAT NEVER LEFT HIM.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: GREATEST ART POTTER ON EARTH!

YOU PROVE THE CONTRARY.

>> Narrator: HE WOULD SET UP HIS PORTABLE KILN, SHOUT TO THE PASSERS BY AND SELL... GENERALLY NOTHING.

BUT THEY REMEMBERED HIM, AS DID OTHER EXPOSITION ARTISTS, FOR HIS ANTICS.

ON THE EXPOSITION AND FAIR CIRCUITS, OHR WAS A CELEBRITY.

HE WAS THE MOST FAMOUS POTTER OF HIS TIME, BUT FOR HIS CHICANERY, NOT HIS ART.

>> Ron Dale, Ceramist: HE WAS OFTEN STUCK BACK IN A DIFFERENT PART OF THE EXHIBITION.

I THINK HE NEEDED SOMETHING, PROBABLY, TO GET TO THEM.

BUT ALSO, I THINK, HE HAD A LARGE EGO.

HE BELIEVED IN HIMSELF AND HE WANTED EVERYONE ELSE TO SEE IT.

>> Clark: YOU SEE THIS A LOT IN ART.

YOU SEE THIS A LOT IN LIFE.

WHERE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO BE SERIOUS WITH SOMETHING WHICH CANNOT BE EASILY UNDERSTOOD BY THE SOCIETY AROUND THEM.

THEY OFTEN TURN TO CLOWNING AND JOKING AS A WAY OF BROACHING THAT DIVIDE.

AND OHR USED IT IN HIS WORK PROBABLY IN A SORT OF WAY WHICH WAS VERY DAMAGING TO HIM, BECAUSE IN HIS OWN TIME PEOPLE SAW HIM AS A BUFFOON.

THE CLOWNING, IN A WAY, OVERWHELMED THE WORK.

>> Narrator: THE WORLD'S INDUSTRIAL AND COTTON CENTENNIAL CLOSED ON JUNE 1, 1885.

IT HAD BEEN A FAILURE IN ATTENDANCE AND ATTENTION.

THE FIRST EXPOSITION OF THE BLACKSMITH POTTER ENDED IN A FIASCO.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: IT COST ME MY TOTAL YEAR'S SAVINGS TO SHOW UP.

AND AS I GOT THE WRONG MAN TO ATTEND TO THE TAKING AWAY OF MY WARES, STAND AND FIXINGS, IT TURNED OUT TO BE NOBODY'S BUSINESS AND EVERYBODY'S POTTERY.

>> Narrator: ALL OF HIS POTTERY, THE LARGE VICTORIAN PITCHERS, THE ORNATE MOLDED WARE, THE FANCY VASES WAS LOST, STOLEN.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: WELL I MADE SOME MORE AND YOU CAN'T KEEP A LIVE SQUIRREL ON THE GROUND.

AND THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION IS OUT OF SIGHT AND SO ARE THOSE MUD FIXINGS.

>> Narrator: GEORGE OHR BACKTRACKED TO BILOXI.

>> Black: APPARENTLY GEORGE OHR REALLY LIKED MECHANICAL THINGS AND ENGINES.

HE WAS ABOUT 13 WHEN THE FIRST RAILROAD CAME TO BILOXI.

AND I THINK HE MADE IT A LIFE -LONG HABIT TO GO DOWN TO TRACKS AND WATCH THE TRAINS COME IN AND GO BY.

I THINK IT WAS AT THE DEPOT THAT HE MET HIS WIFE.

>> Narrator: GEORGE OHR MET JOSEPHINE GOERING AT THE BILOXI TRAIN DEPOT DURING HER TRIP TO HEALTHFUL BILOXI WITH HER ASTHMATIC SISTER.

YOUNG GEORGE WAS IMMEDIATELY INFATUATED WITH THE GRETNA, LOUISIANA NATIVE.

THEY WERE MARRIED IN A CATHOLIC CEREMONY SEPTEMBER 15, 1886.

>> Davidson-Smith: SHE LOOKED LIKE INGRID BERGMAN TO ME.

THE CHILDREN IN THEIR MEMORIES HAD HER ON A PEDESTAL AS A SWEET, LOVING, GENTLE WOMAN.

>> Ohr: SHE WAS PRETTY, REALLY PRETTY.

>> Re -enactment of George Ohr: I LOVE MY JOSIE.

BUT MMMM... >> Narrator: JOSEPHINE OHR SOON BECAME A MOTHER.

THE NEW FATHER SUPPORTED HIS FAMILY BY SELLING HIS FUNCTIONAL WARE AND NOVELTY TRINKETS.

MANY OF OHR'S NOVELTY ITEMS REFLECTED HIS BAWDY SENSE OF HUMOR.

>> Febres: IF YOU HAVE 11 CHILDREN AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY AND YOU HAVE TO CLEAN 11 LITTLE CHAMBER POTS.

I'M SURE IT'S GOING TO COME OUT AND YOU'RE GOING TO START DOING LITTLE POO POO POTS.

IS THAT PRE-DADA OR JUST PART OF YOUR STYLE OR YOUR LIVING OR WHAT YOU SEE EVERYDAY?

>> Clark: I THINK IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO TAKE THOSE OBJECTS AND ELEVATE THEM TO AN ART STATUS AND SAY, "OH, THESE WERE PROFOUND, SORT OF DA DA HUMOR STATEMENTS."

THEY ARE NOT.

IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR OWN TIME THEY HAVE A CONTEXT.

IF YOU WENT TO FAIRS, PEOPLE MADE THESE KIND OF THINGS.

THEY SOLD THESE KIND OF THINGS.

THEY WERE THE ORDINARY STOCK IN TRADE FOR FAIRS.

>> Narrator: THE NOVELTY ITEMS WERE A FORM OF PROMOTION.

OHR'S ANGLE ON A WILLING MARKET PLACE.

HE ALSO GENEROUSLY PUBLICIZED HIMSELF THROUGH PLACARDS AND ADVERTISEMENTS.

OHR WAS, IN SHORT, A HAWKER.

>> John Perreault, Art Critic: POTTERY, GEORGE, M.D., MUD DAUBER.

HE HAD LOTS OF NAMES HE LIKED TO CALL HIMSELF BY WHEN HE WAS MAKING SIGNS FOR HIS DISPLAYS OR OUTSIDE OF HIS POTTERY.

THEY STRIKE US AS KIND OF ODD AND QUITE OUTRAGEOUS AS I'M SURE THEY PROBABLY DID TO THE PEOPLE OF THE TIME IN MISSISSIPPI AND THE FEW EXPOSITIONS THAT HE WENT TO.

BUT THEY PROBABLY ACCOMPLISHED WHAT HE WANTED AND CALLED ATTENTION TO HIMSELF.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: UNEQUALED, UNRIVALED, UNDISPUTED GREATEST ART POTTER ON EARTH!

>> Perreault: HE REALLY FELT THAT HE WAS THE WORLD'S GREATEST POTTER.

THAT'S WHAT THE SIGNS SAID.

NOW I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE AGREE WITH HIM.

HE WAS THE WORLD'S GREATEST POTTER.

>> Narrator: CHRISTIE'S AUCTION HOUSE, NEW YORK CITY.

THE POTTERY OF GEORGE OHR IS ENJOYING A GRAND RE-INTRODUCTION NEARLY 75 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH.

IT IS ALMOST EVERYTHING HE HAD HOPED FOR.

>> Bill Dunlap, Artist: I THINK OHR'S TIME CAPSULE CONCEPT REALLY WORKED FOR HIM BECAUSE THERE'S DRAMA TO THAT AND EXCITEMENT.

ALSO QUITE FRANKLY, AND SARDONICALLY, THERE'S A WAY FOR DEALERS TO MAKE A LOT OF MONEY.

AND IT IS ABOUT BUSINESS.

I MEAN, WHAT HE COULDN'T GIVE AWAY WHEN HE WAS ALIVE NOW WOULD BE PRECIOUS.

>> Narrator: THE POTTERY OF GEORGE OHR IS NOT ALL IN ONE PLACE, IN A SHRINE TO THE GENIUS TO THE MASTER POTTER AS HE HAD WISHED.

IT IS A VALUED PART OF PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND MUSEUMS SUCH AS THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART AND THE METROPOLITAN.

THERE IS MORE GEORGE OHR POTTERY IN NEW YORK THAN ANYWHERE, INCLUDING HIS HOME STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

>> Charles Cowles, Gallery Owner/Collector: PEOPLE IN NEW YORK LOVE GEORGE OHR.

THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE HE WAS DISCOVERED.

THIS IS THE PLACE THAT MADE HIM GREAT.

YES, HE DID SELL PIECES IN MISSISSIPPI AND NEW ORLEANS.

YES, HE DID HAVE THINGS AT THE RENWICK GALLERY IN WASHINGTON BEFORE HE WAS HOT IN NEW YORK.

BUT THE POINT IS, HE IS HOT IN NEW YORK.

HE WAS MADE HOT BY THE NEW YORK SCENE, THE NEW YORK ARTISTS, THE NEW YORK COLLECTORS, THE NEW YORK CURATORS.

CRITICS WHO HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT HIM, TALKED ABOUT HIM, COLLECTED THE WORK, DRIVEN THE PRICES UP, IF YOU WISH.

IT'S HAPPENING IN NEW YORK FOR GEORGE OHR.

>> Narrator: OHR'S WORK FIRST CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF COLLECTORS IN THE MID 1970's.

BUT BILOXI'S GEORGE OHR IS PERCEIVED BY MANY TO BE A FOLK ARTIST.

A 1984 SHOWING OF THE PAINTER JASPER JOHNS, ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS, ENCOURAGED THE CRITICAL INTERPRETATION OF GEORGE OHR AS AMERICA'S FIRST MODERN ARTIST.

>> David Rago, Art Dealer: UP UNTIL THAT TIME, MOST OF THE PEOPLE BUYING OHR'S WORK WERE ART POTTERY BUYERS AND FOLK ART BUYERS.

AND SUDDENLY MODERN ART BUYERS AND MODERN ARTISTS, ANDY WARHOL FOR ONE, JASPER JOHNS...

I DON'T KNOW WHEN HE STARTED BUYING BUT IT'S NO SECRET HE STARTED BUYING OHR BECAUSE OHR'S WORKS STARTED APPEARING IN HIS PAINTINGS.

>> Narrator: JOHN'S HOMAGE TO OHR GAVE THE POTTER'S WORK EVEN GREATER PROMINENCE.

YET, A DEEPER INTERPRETATION OF THE ART HAS NOT LED TO A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE OHR.

>> George Febres, Artist: I WENT TO NEW YORK TO SEE THE GEORGE OHR SHOW AT THE CRAFT MUSEUM AND TO BUY THE BOOK BECAUSE I WAS JUST EAGER TO SEE THE BOOK.

AND THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE.

I WAS NOT THERE WHEN THIS HAPPENED, BUT SOMEBODY TOLD ME THAT TWO VERY FANCY LADIES FROM THE EAST SIDE, PROBABLY IN MINK COATS AND YOU KNOW HAIR DO'S, VERY SPIFFY, WERE TALKING AND LOOKING AT THE PIECES.

LET'S CALL THEM MILDRED AND ETHEL.

AND MILDRED TOLD ETHEL,"OH LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL THING."

"YES, MILDRED."

"AND TO THINK THAT HE WAS FROM BILOXI."

I THINK THAT'S PRETTY FUNNY.

>> Narrator: OHR ENCOUNTERED SIMILAR ATTITUDES, ESPECIALLY DURING EXCHANGES WITH EARLY CURATORS AT THE ORIGINAL SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM.

HE SENT LETTERS AND POTTERY IMPLORING THEM TO RECOGNIZE HIS SELF-PROCLAIMED TALENTS.

THEY REJECTED HIM.

SIXTY YEARS AFTER OHR'S DEATH SMITHSONIAN CURATORS STILL HAD DIFFICULTY ACCEPTING THE WORK BECAUSE OF THE MAN.

>> Garth Clark, Ceramics Historian: IN 1978 I WENT TO THE SMITHSONIAN AND I WAS SPEAKING TO THE MAN WHO WAS THEN THE KEEPER OF CERAMICS.

I HAD JUST PUBLISHED MY FIRST ESSAY ON OHR WHICH CAME OUT IN THAT CATALOGUE WHICH THE MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY DID.

AND HE SAID, "I SEE HERE THAT YOU SAY THAT GEORGE OHR IS THE GREATEST AMERICAN POTTER."

AND HE PAUSED FOR A MOMENT AND HE SAID, "WE AT THE SMITHSONIAN DON'T AGREE WITH YOU.

WE THINK HE'S JUST PLAIN HOKEY."

THAT SAID IT ALL.

THAT WAS THE WHOLE DIVIDE WITH OHR.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: TO THE SMITHSONIAN, WASHINGTON.

AS KIND WORDS AND DEEDS NEVER DIE, SUCH WORDS AND DEEDS ARE FIRE WATERS, ACID AND TIME-PROOF.

BUT THE INSTIGATORS ARE SHADOWS.

THEY FADE AND DISAPPEAR WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN.

>> Narrator: OHR'S MESSAGE WAS PROPHETIC.

THE INSTIGATORS DID FADE AND DISAPPEAR.

SINCE THE RELEASE OF HIS POTTERY, THE SMITHSONIAN HAS FEATURED TWO EXHIBITS OF THE WORKS OF BILOXI'S GEORGE OHR.

OHR AMUSED LOCALS WITH HIS STORIES ABOUT HIS MYSTERIOUS CLAY, FOOLING THEM INTO THINKING HIS POTTERY WAS EXTRAORDINARILY THIN BECAUSE OF THE TCHOUTACABOUFFA RIVER'S SPECIAL POWERS.

BUT IT WAS HIS TECHNICAL VIRTUOSITY, HIS ABUNDANT TALENT THAT MADE THE POTTERY SO UNUSUAL.

>> Perreault: HE WAS A MASTER IN TERMS OF THROWING ON THE WHEEL.

HE COULD THROW POTS VERY, VERY THIN.

THEY WOULD FEEL LIKE THEY ARE PAPER THIN IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO TOUCH THEM.

OF COURSE IF YOU'VE HAD ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THAT, EVEN IF YOU'VE TRIED TO THROW IN A CRAFTS CLASS, YOU KNOW THAT AT A CERTAIN POINT, THINGS GET A LITTLE OUT OF HAND.

THE POTS COLLAPSE AND THEY GO ALL OVER THE PLACE.

PART OF HIS GENIUS IS THAT HE USED THAT IN HIS WORK.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: MY 17-YEARS CHALLENGE TO THE WHOLE WORLD OF WEALTH AND POTTERS: TO MAKE FACSIMILE OF MY TWISTS OR CRINKLED SHAPES OR FOR CREATING NEW DESIGNS ON POTTER'S WHEELS STILL HOLDS GOOD.

PLEASE SHUT ME UP.

>> Patti Carr Black, Historian: I LOVE GEORGE OHR'S POTS BECAUSE YOU CAN FEEL BOTH THE CLAY AND THE ARTIST IN THE WORK ITSELF.

CLAY IS A PLASTIC MEDIUM BUT MOST POTS DON'T SHOW THAT.

THEY ARE VERY STIFF AND UPRIGHT.

BUT WITH - - LOOK AT THIS.

YOU CAN FEEL THE CLAY ITSELF.

YOU CAN FEEL THE RAW MATERIAL.

AND YOU CAN ALSO FEEL THE ARTIST.

YOU CAN SEE THE TWIST OF HIS WRIST HERE AND THE INDENTATION THAT HIS FINGERS MAKE HERE.

HE'S JUST VERY PRESENT IN HIS WORK.

I LIKE THAT.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: I AM THE APOSTLE OF INDIVIDUALITY, THE BROTHER OF THE HUMAN RACE.

BUT I MUST BE MYSELF AND I WANT EVERY POT TO BE ITSELF.

>> Hecht: NO ONE HAD THE AUDACITY TO TAKE A POT - - FIRSTLY THERE PROBABLY WAS NEVER A PERSON IN THE CRAFT BEFORE WHO COULD MAKE THE WALLS SO THIN.

THIS THING WAS THROWN.

IT'S PERHAPS THE THICKNESS OF THREE OR FOUR SHEETS OF PAPER AT MOST, A THICK EGG SHELL.

AND THEN IT'S FOLDED AND TWISTED INTO A REMARKABLY EXPRESSIVE STATEMENT FILLED WITH ENERGY AND TENSION AND VIGOR.

NOTHING LIKE IT HAD EVER BEEN CREATED BEFORE AND NOTHING LIKE IT HAS EVER BEEN CREATED SINCE.

>> Narrator: 1892.

OHR, WITH THE HELP OF A WORKER NAMED HARRY PORTMAN, WAS PRODUCING MORE THAN HE EVER HAD BEFORE.

THAT YEAR HE PURSUED ANOTHER INTEREST, MERRY-MAKING.

OHR WAS BEHIND THE MOVE TO GET BILOXI A MARDI GRAS PARADE.

THE FUN-LOVING SHOWMAN ADORED MARDI GRAS.

ONE THEME FLOAT WAS "THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE."

OHR WAS ALWAYS A NATURAL PERFORMER.

HE HAD ACTED ON THE LOCAL STAGE, PLAYED THE CORONET IN THE BILOXI BRASS BAND.

HE ALSO EXPERIMENTED WITH PHOTOGRAPHY.

WHILE HE HAD SOME FRIENDS AND ADMIRERS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, FEW WERE GIVEN ANY REASON TO THINK OF GEORGE OHR AS A NOTABLE ARTIST.

OHR ACCEPTED AND EVEN REVELED IN THE STEREOTYPE OF TOWN ECCENTRIC.

HE ADOPTED THE NICK NAME "THE MAD POTTER OF BILOXI" INSPIRED BY HIS CAREFUL STUDY OF 16th CENTURY FRENCH CERAMIST, BERNARD PALISSY.

>> Febres: IF OHR WAS CALLED MAD, THE MAD POTTER OF FRANCE AND THE MAD POTTER OF BILOXI.

AND GEORGE OHR KNEW THAT PALISSY WAS CALLED MAD.

THEY BOTH WERE GENIUSES.

NOBODY CALLED THEM.

THEY CALLED THEMSELVES.

SO WHEN GEORGE OHR READ THAT BOOK ON PALISSY, I'M SURE HE WAS JUST, "OH GOD."

AND EVERYBODY WANTED TO BE A PALISSY.

SO GEORGE OHR BECAME ONE.

>> Narrator: THE REPTILES SEEN ON SOME OF OHR'S WORK ARE CONSIDERED TO BE DIRECT INFLUENCES OF THE WORK OF BERNARD PALISSY.

>> Hecht: THINGS WERE GOING ALONG VERY WELL.

THE POTTERY WAS OVERFLOWING.

HE HAD POTS ALL OVER THE ROOMS.

HE HAD POTS OUTSIDE.

THE STREET WAS LINED WITH THEM.

HE SUSPENDED THEM ON THE FENCE PICKETS TURNING THE POTS UPSIDE DOWN AND STICKING THEM ON THE FENCE POSTS.

WE HAVE A PICTURE OF THE PLACE OF THE LATE 1893 - 94 PERIOD.

AND SO WE KNOW THAT HIS PRODUCTION HAD BEEN ROARING ALONG AND HE HAD BEEN DOING ALL SORTS OF EXPERIMENTS.

THEN HE SUFFERS A CRUSHING BLOW.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: FIRE!!

(fire alarms ring) >> Narrator: BILOXI'S ENTIRE DOWN TOWN, INCLUDING THE HOME AND SHOP OF GEORGE OHR, BURNED TO THE GROUND IN OCTOBER, 1894.

>> Ron Dale, Ceramist: THERE'S A GREAT PICTURE OF HIM STANDING WITH TWO OF HIS CHILDREN BY HIS BIG KILN THE MORNING AFTER THE FIRE.

IT'S AN ENORMOUS KILN THAT THEY'RE BY, JUST IN RUBBLE.

WHERE HE BEGAN TO FISH OUT THE POTS AND SALVAGE WHAT HE COULD OF THE PLACE.

>> Hecht: BECAUSE OF HIS SENSITIVITY AND HISF HIS RELATIONSHIP TO THE PIECES, HE TREATS THEM AND REFERS THEM OFTEN AS HIS CLAY BABIES.

THESE PIECES FROM THE FIRE, HE KEPT.

THEY WERE HIS DEAD BABIES.

>> Clark: HIS EXACT QUOTE ABOUT THAT, AS I REMEMBER, IS, "WOULD A MOTHER BE SO CRUEL AS TO CAST OFF HER DEFORMED CHILD? "

I'M NOT SURE ANY POTTER IN AMERICA AT THAT TIME WOULD HAVE HAD THAT KIND OF SENSITIVITY AND LOVE FOR THE WORK.

AND WHAT IT REVEALS IS THAT OHR KNEW HE WAS GOOD.

HE KNEW THESE THINGS WERE VERY, VERY SPECIAL.

>> Narrator: OHR KEPT EVERYTHING.

WHEN NEW JERSEY'S JAMES CARPENTER BOUGHT THE COLLECTION NEARLY 80 YEARS LATER, THE BURNED PIECES WERE ALL STILL THERE.

NO ONE QUITE KNOWS THE EFFECT THE FIRE HAD ON GEORGE OHR, ONE OF SEVERAL TRAGEDIES IN HIS LIFE.

OHR KNEW THE ANGUISH OF LOSS, OF CLAY BABIES AND HUMAN BABIES.

OF THEIR 10 CHILDREN, THE OHRS BURIED FIVE.

>> Ojo Ohr, Son: YOU MUST HAVE SEEN SOMETHING SPECIAL.

IT WAS SPECIAL.

HE MADE THE BUILDING AND ADDED ON TO IT AND ADDED ON TO IT AND ON TOP OF IT.

HE HAD SOME OF THESE BALLS LIKE THAT, PROTECTION FROM LIGHTNING.

AND HE HAD THESE BICYCLE CHAINS.HAD THESE BICYCLE HE'D RUN THEM FROM EACH ONE THE WHOLE LENGTH OF THE BUILDING.

>> Narrator: THE 1894 FIRE RADICALIZED OHR.

HE SURPASSED THE WORK HE'D CREATED BEFORE AND REACHED INTO THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN ART INTO WHAT MANY CONSIDERED THE BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM.

>> Clark: IF YOU LOOK AT THE WORKS THAT WERE DONE JUST BEFORE THE FIRE, THERE WAS THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING THAT CAME LATER.

BUT IT WAS ALL A LITTLE TAMER, A LITTLE MORE RESTRAINED.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FIRE DID.

PERHAPS THE FIRE MADE HIM FACE UP TO HIS OWN MORTALITY.

CERTAINLY HE FELT THE CLOCK T ICKING AND HE REALIZED THAT HE JUST HAD TO DO WHAT HE HAD TO DO BECAUSE AT THAT POINT, THE WORK BECOMES MUCH MORE GESTURAL, MUCH MORE FURIOUS.

>> John Perreault, Art Critic: IT'S ALMOST LIKE HE WAS A MAN POSSESSED.

HE WAS DETERMINED TO JUST PUSH THE CLAY BEYOND THE POINT WHERE IT HAD BEEN PUSHED BEFORE.

>> Narrator: 1904.

BILOXI QUICKLY REBUILT AFTER THE FIRE.

THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY PROSPERED AS DID THE TOWN WHICH WAS KNOWN FOR SEVERAL YEARS AS THE SEAFOOD CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

A STEADY TOURISM CAMPAIGN DURING THE HEIGHT OF OHR'S CAREER PROVIDED MANY BUYERS FOR THE MAD POTTER'S TRINKETS AND KNICK KNACKS.

OHR WAS BILOXI'S NUMBER ONE TOURIST ATTRACTION BY THE EARLY 1900's.

HE CONSORTED WITH THE LOCAL SOCIALIST LEADER, SUMNER ROSE, AT HIS CREATED COMMUNITY, CO-OPOLIS, NEAR BILOXI.

YET, HE DIDN'T PAY HIS POLL TAXES.

SO WHATEVER HIS POLITICS, HE COULDN'T VOTE.

OHR ALSO MADE HIS CHARACTERISTIC SPLASHES AT POPULAR EXPOSITIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY DURING THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.

AT THE 1904 WORLD'S FAIR IN SAINT LOUIS, THE MAD POTTER CRITICIZED TEMPERANCE LEADER CARRIE NATION.

WHEN HE RETURNED TO BILOXI, HE BROUGHT WITH HIM A SILVER MEDAL FOR CERAMICS.

IT WAS THE GREATEST RECOGNITION HE WOULD EVER RECEIVE FOR HIS WORK.

THAT SAME YEAR, 1904, GEORGE OHR SENIOR DIED IN HIS SLEEP.

A YEAR LATER, THE POTTER'S MOTHER ALSO DIED.

OHR HAD NOT ONLY LOST HIS PARENTS, HE HAD LOST HIS PRIMARY SUPPORTERS.

JOANNA OHR WILLED HER SON $500, MINUS THE MONEY HE STILL OWED HER FOR PAYING HIS LUMBER COMPANY BILL.

SHE LEFT HIS WIFE, JOSEPHINE, PARTIAL OWNERSHIP OF FAMILY PROPERTY ADJOINING THE POTTERY GROUNDS.

THE WILL SET OFF A FAMILY FEUD.

>> Patti Carr Black, Historian: WITHIN A YEAR OF HER DEATH, HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAD SOLD THEIR SHARE OF THE LAND.

WHAT FOLLOWED THEN WAS TWO YEARS OF VERY BITTER IN-FIGHTING AND LEGAL BATTLES FOR GEORGE OHR AND, I'M SURE, A GREAT DEAL OF STRESS AND A GREAT DEAL OF PAIN.

>> Narrator: AT THE CENTER OF THE LEGAL CONFLICT WERE OHR'S FAMILY AND THE MERCHANTS WHO BOUGHT THEIR PART OF THE PROPERTY: CHARLES REDDING AND JOSEPH LAWRENCE.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: BOLDLY, AND I WILL PUT A TON'S WEIGHT IN EACH WORD.

CHARLES REDDING AND JOSEPH LAWRENCE HAVE NO MORE RIGHT IN THE GEORGE OHR ESTATE THAN HAS THE RAJA OF THE FIJI ISLAND THE KING OF NOAHONIONIOUS OR A MAN ON MARS.

>> Narrator: THE LAND DISPUTE WENT ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS, YET OHR MANAGED TO KEEP THE BILOXI ART POTTERY, UNLIMITED, IN BUSINESS.

BUT THE EFFECTS OF THE LITIGATION SHOWED, AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE TIME FOR THE WHEEL.

>> Ohr: I DON'T THINK HE WAS VERY HAPPY, I'LL TELL YOU.

AND HE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO GET HE LAWYERS TO FIGHT THE CASE.

SO HE LOST HIS JUST TO...

BUT IT NEVER DID DO THE REST OF THEM ANY GOOD BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT SEEING HIM... >> Black: THE TWO YEARS OF LEGAL BATTLES REALLY TOOK A TOLL ON GEORGE OHR.

HE HAD TO ENDURE THINGS LIKE BEING THROWN IN JAIL SEVERAL TIMES FOR TRESPASSING ON WHAT WAS ACTUALLY HIS OWN PROPERTY.

HIS OWN SISTER TOOK HIM TO COURT TO TRY TO DECLARE HIM INSANE SO THAT SHE COULD GET CONTROL OF THE PROPERTY.

SO HE MUST HAVE FELT A LOT OF BETRAYAL AND A LOT OF PAIN.

>> Narrator: BY A JURY OF HIS PEERS IN ONE HALF HOUR ONE SATURDAY MORNING, GEORGE OHR WAS DECLARED SANE.

HE REPRESENTED HIMSELF.

BUT THE HUMILIATING JAILINGS CONTINUED.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: THEY PUT ME WHERE FLYING MACHINE CAN'T FLY: A CAGE.

>> Narrator: THE BATTLES OVER THE LAND AND FURTHER DISPUTES WITH THE CITY OVER TAXES DRAINED OHR.

HIS OUTPUT GREATLY DECREASED, YET HIS PASSIONATE, EXPRESSIVE FORMS NEVER LOST THEIR POWER.

>> Garth Clark, Ceramics Historian: IN THE VERY LAST OF HIS POTS, OR WHAT WE ASSUME TO BE THE VERY LAST OF HIS POTS, THE GESTURES ARE MUCH MORE FURIOUS THAN BEFORE.

THEY'RE HARDER.

THEY'RE LESS SENSUAL.

THERE SEEMS TO BE A GROWING ANGER IN THE WAY THE POTS TWIST AND MOVE.

>> Narrator: EVENTUALLY, GEORGE OHR STOPPED MAKING POTTERY ALTOGETHER.

>> Ohr: HE STOPPED.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE STOPPED FOR.

WELL, WE HAD SO MUCH OF IT.

THAT'S ONE THING, I GUESS.

>> Clark: AND I THINK ALSO AT THAT TIME HE BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THIS WAS NOT GOING TO COME RIGHT FOR HIM.

HE WAS NOT GOING TO BE DISCOVERED AS AMERICA'S GREAT ARTIST.

AND MAYBE TOWARD THE END, HE DIDN'T BELIEVE THEY WERE GOING TO BUILD THAT TEMPLE TO HIM, EITHER.

>> Hecht: ALL THE POTS ARE PUT IN THE ATTIC.

IF YOU LISTEN TO THE LEGENDS, THEY WERE "VERY CAREFULLY PUT AWAY."

IF YOU LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS, THEY WERE THROWN HELTER SKELTER INTO OPEN BOXES AND MOVED UP TO THE ATTIC OF THE OLD RICKETY POTTERY.

>> Black: THE PROPERTY WAS FINALLY SOLD AT PUBLIC OUTCRY.

>> Narrator: TO SETTLE THE DISPUTE, A LOCAL JUDGE ORDERED THE LAND SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER.

>> Black: WHEN HIS PROPERTY WENT ON THE BLOCK, HE LIFTED HIS WIFE'S HAND AND SLAPPED THE CHANCERY CLERK.

HE WAS AGAIN JAILED FOR THAT.

IT WAS PROBABLY JUST BEYOND HIS ENDURANCE TO WITNESS SUCH A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: GEORGE'S FIST MIGHT HAVE STOPPED THAT SALE!

>> Narrator: GEORGE REFUSED FOR TWO YEARS TO ACCEPT HIS PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THE FAMILY PROPERTY WHICH HAD BEEN SOLD FOR MUCH LESS THAN WHAT IT WAS WORTH.

THE POTTERY BUILDING WAS CONVERTED INTO THE OHR BOYS AUTOMOBILE REPAIR SHOP.

1914.

GEORGE OHR NEVER RECOVERED FROM THE HUMILIATION OF LOSING HIS PARENT'S PROPERTY.

AT MARDI GRAS, OHR SHOCKED THE TOWN WITH HIS SYMBOLIC MESSAGE THAT HIS LEGAL PROBLEMS WERE HIS CROSS TO BEAR.

>> Glenn L. Swetman, Retired Banker: EACH MARDI GRAS, OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR MARDI GRAS PARADE.

AT THAT TIME, IT WASN'T SPONSORED BY ANY PARTICULAR GROUP.

JUST EVERYBODY DOVE IN AND PREPARED A FLOAT OF THEIR OWN KEEPINGS.

AS I RECALL, THE FLOAT, IT WAS GEORGE OHR REPRESENTING A JESUS OF SOME TYPE.

IT WAS A TERRIFIC NIGHT.

IT WAS AS COLD AS THE DICKENS.

>> Delores Davidson-Smith, Family Friend: IT'S SORT OF A RAW-BONED FLOAT AND HERE IS GEORGE WITH A SHEET AROUND HIMSELF.

HE WAS CARRYING A GREAT BIG WOODEN CROSS ON HIS SHOULDER.

BUT THIS REALLY SEEMED GROSS TO THEM.

THEY SAID THAT HE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS GOD, JESUS CARRYING THE CROSS.

THEY JUST TOOK IT BADLY.

THEY FORGOT TO READ THE SIGNS.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: NO LAWYER, NO DOCTOR, NO PUGILIST OR PREACHER CAN CARRY YOURS.

>> Narrator: GEORGE OHR SACRIFICED ANY FEELINGS OF GOOD WILL OR TOLERANCE THE COMMUNITY HAD FOR HIM WITH THE MARDI GRAS PERFORMANCE.

FOR MANY RESIDENTS, THERE WAS NO MORE DEBATE ABOUT HIS SANITY.

HIS WHITE HAIR AND BEARD GREW LONG AND UNKEMPT.

BUT HIS INTENSE BLUE EYES STILL FLASHED WHEN HE ROARED DOWN BILOXI STREETS ON HIS MOTORCYCLE.

>> Agnes Grinstead Anderson, Retired Teacher: OOH, I HID BEHIND MY MOTHER.

HE WOULD BE COMING MORE OR LESS ERRATICALLY DOWN THE STREET AT A GREAT SPEED ON HIS BICYCLE WITH THESE WINGS BEHIND HIS EARS.

I WASN'T SURE WHETHER HE WAS A FAIRY TALE CHARACTER OR WHAT HE WAS.

>> Narrator: OHR NOW FILLED HIS TIME BY WRITING.

HE WROTE LETTERS AND TREATISES IN AN UPSTAIRS ROOM, PREACHING A MESSAGE OF CERAMIC SALVATION.

>> Eugene Hecht, Biographer: OHR WROTE A FEW LETTERS.

SOME OF HIS LETTERS, VERY FEW, SURVIVE.

AND ONE SPEAKS ABOUT IF ONLY HE COULD SET UP WHEELS ALL OVER THE SOUTH, HE WOULD TEACH CERAMICS TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE AND SAVE AMERICA.

SO HE'S STILL VIGOROUS, HE'S STILL THINKING.

BUT HE'S BEEN A SMOKER ALL HIS LIFE.

HE'S WEARY.

HE'S DEVELOPING CANCER OF THE THROAT.

AND SLOWLY HE DISAPPEARS.

>> Narrator: BILOXI'S MUD DAUBER, THE POTTER GEORGE OHR, DIED OF THROAT CANCER ON APRIL 7, 1918.

GRANDFATHER TO TWINS, HE WAS 60 YEARS OLD.

>> Re-enactment of George Ohr: "THIS POT IS HERE.

AND I AM THE POTTER WHO WAS. "

GEORGE E. OHR.

>> Narrator: IT HAD BEEN A DRY SPRING, BUT ON THAT NIGHT THE RAIN FINALLY FELL.

THE CLAY BANKS OF THE TCHOUTACABOUFFA SLOWLY SLID INTO THE RUSHING RIVER.

IT'S AN OLD RIVER, ONE NAMED BY THE COAST'S FIRST VESSEL MAKERS.

IN BILOXI INDIAN DIALECT, TCHOUTACABOUFFA MEANS "BROKEN POT."

>> Febres: HE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUT INTO AN ASYLUM WHEN HE STARTED GOING AROUND DRESSED LIKE JESUS, CARRYING A CROSS.

BUT I GUESS THEY JUST SAW HIM AS AN ECCENTRIC.

>> Clark: I THINK IT'S SORT OF DENIGRATING, IN A WAY, TO SPEAK OF HIM AS A MAD ARTIST BECAUSE IT THEN LEADS US TO BELIEVE THAT THE WORK WAS THE RESULT OF SOME KIND OF SPONTANEOUS CRAZINESS.

>> Febres: MUST HAVE BEEN TOUGH TO BE GEORGE OHR AT THAT TIME AND BE SO CRAZY.

HE WAS, HE WAS.

HE HAD A TOUCH OF MADNESS, DEFINITELY.

>> Clark: THAT WHOLE NOTION FLIES IN THE FACE OF WHAT POTTERY IS ABOUT.

TO MAKE POTTERY, THE LONG ARDUOUS PROCESS, TO MAKE IT THE WAY OHR DID WAS EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT, BEING CRAZY WOULDN'T HAVE HELPED HIM IN THE TINIEST.

>> Tannen: I'M NOT SAYING GEORGE OHR WAS MENTALLY ILL, BUT THERE WAS MAYBE AN ECCENTRIC LIFESTYLE THAT COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH NEUROTIC BEHAVIOR.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE HIS WORK MAD.

HIS WORK WAS BRILLIANT.

AND TO THINK OF IT AS ANY LESS THAN THAT IS DOING A DISSERVICE TO IT.

HE'S NOT THE MAD POTTER OF BILOXI.

HE'S THE GREAT POTTER OF BILOXI (Lady singing "If You've Only ot a Moustache") [ Captioned by MPB ] >> Announcer: THIS MISSISSIPPI MASTERS PROFILE IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE PHIL HARDIN FOUNDATION OF MERIDIAN, DEDICATED TO IMPROVING EDUCATION FOR MISSISSIPPIANS.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY THE MISSISSIPPI ARTS COMMISSION, AND BY MEMBERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI EDUCATIONAL NETWORK.