Stabilization of George Ohr Pottery Collection

FAIN: PG-50370-08

Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art (Biloxi, MS 39530-4278)
Anna Harris (Project Director: May 2007 to February 2009)

The purchase of supplies to rehouse the museum's collection of George E. Ohr ceramics, which had been quickly relocated after Hurricane Katrina and would now be placed in archival quality enclosures. These ceramics, dating from 1879 to 1907, are early examples of art pottery and are known for their fragility, paper-thin edges, and highly colored glazes.

The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art (OOMA) proposes to purchase supplies needed for the re-housing of the museum's collection of George E. Ohr ceramics. Hurricane Katrina forced the museum to relocate the collection to an off-site vault facility at the Cobb Institute of Archeology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS. The re-housing of the Ohr Collection is OOMA's top collections priority. The collection is currently housed in archival boxes with bubble wrap and archival tissue. While the boxes and tissue are archival, the current bubble wrap material needs to be replaced with non-reactive, archival quality materials. The bubble wrap was used during hurricane evacuation and the subsequent re-housing effort, but it is not suitable for long-term storage. This grant would allow the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art to purchase the necessary materials to safeguard it's collection of over 300 pieces of George Ohr's treasured ceramics.