Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise is the largest presentation of Newcomb arts and crafts in more than twenty-five years and offers new insights into the Newcomb community’s enduring mark on American art and industry. With 180 objects that span 45 years of production, the exhibition examines the role that the Newcomb school played in promoting art for the advancement of women and, in turn, New Orleans’ business and cultural communities, which were still struggling from the effects of the Civil War. What began as an educational experiment in 1895 at the Newcomb College, Tulane University’s former women’s college, flourished into a quasi-commercial venture that offered an opportunity for Southern women to support themselves financially during and after their training as artists. Many of the works of the Newcomb Pottery enterprise were inspired by the native flora and fauna of the Gulf South, a style that became immediately recognizable and popular with influential collectors, curators and tastemakers across the country. This exhibition features important examples of the iconic pottery, including the recently acquired daffodil motif vase by Harriet Joor, and jewelry, such as the 1929 silver and moonstone necklace attributed to Mary Williams Butler, as well as and other textiles, metalwork, bookbinding and other historical artifacts.
Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise, an exhibition created and organized by Newcomb Art Museum, Tulane University, and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), was made possible in part through the generous support of Henry Luce Foundation and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.
Location: Upper-Level Galleries
The Frist Art Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of our Picasso Circle members as exhibition patrons:
Jean Ann and Barry Banker
Judy and Joe Barker
Claiborne Blevins
Barbara and Jack Bovender
Richard M. and Judith K. Bracken
Mrs. Thomas H. Cato
John and Laura Chadwick
Kevin and Katie Crumbo
Frank and Claire Drowota
Sheryl and Steve Durham
Patricia Frist Elcan and Charles A. Elcan
Dottie Frist
Jennifer and Billy Frist
Julie and Tommy Frist
Patricia C. Frist and Thomas F. Frist, Jr., MD
Bernice and Joel Gordon
Patricia and Rodes Hart
Spencer and Marlene Hays
Martha R. Ingram
Mr. and Mrs. R. Milton Johnson
Carol and Howard Kirshner
Tom and Darlene Klaritch
Ellen H. Martin
Lynn and Ken Melkus
Ben and Joan Rechter
Jan and Stephen S. Riven
Delphine and Ken Roberts
Anne and Joe Russell
Virginia Severinghaus
Luke and Susan Simons
Laura Anne Turner
Leslie and Robert Waterman
Exhibition gallery
Pottery decorating class, Newcomb College Pottery Building, Washington Avenue Campus, New Orleans, ca. 1905
Newcomb Art School Scrapbook, University Archives, Tulane University
Harriet Coulter Joor, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Tyg with bayou landscape design, ca. 1902. Incised and slightly sculpted; underglaze and glossy glaze. Newcomb Art Collection, Tulane University, gift of Mrs. Marshall Stewart
Corrine Marie Chalaron, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Bowl with tiered abstract leaf design, ca. 1925—26. Low relief carving, underglaze with matte glaze, 4 x 9 in. Newcomb Art Collection, Tulane University
Watercolor class, conducted by Amelie Roman, Newcomb Art School, Washington Avenue Campus, New Orleans, ca. 1910
Newcomb Art School Scrapbook, University Archives, Tulane University
Attributed to Miriam Levy. Brooch of green sardonyx set in hand-wrought silver pin, ca. 1915-20. 5/8 x 2 1/8 x 1 1/2 in. Private collection
Esther Huger Elliot, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Lamp with ceramic base of “cat’s claw” design, shade, and duplex burner, ca. 1902. Underglaze painting with glossy glaze, 7 3/4 x 9 5/8 in. Newcomb Art Collection, Tulane University
Margaret H. Shelby, decorator; Jules Gabry, potter. Plate with Southern coastal violet design, ca. 1896. Underglaze painting. Newcomb Art Collection, Tulane University
Marie de Hoa LeBlanc, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Chocolate pot, ca. 1909. Incised and slightly sculpted; underglaze with glossy glaze. Collection of Don Fuson
Attributed to Mary Williams Butler. Moonstone in cut-out and hand-wrought silver chain and pendant, ca. 1929. Newcomb Art Collection, Tulane University; gift of Mrs. Harry B. “Jack” Kelleher
Graduating class of 1914, on the steps of the Newcomb College Administration Building, Washington Avenue Campus, New Orleans, 1914
Newcomb Archives, Newcomb College Institute, Tulane University
Katherine Kopman, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Vase with daffodil design, 1897. Underglaze painting with glossy glaze. On loan to the Newcomb Art Gallery from Ruth Weinstein Lebovitz
Anna Frances Simpson, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Vase with moon and pine landscape design, ca. 1925. Low-relief carving; underglaze with matte glaze. Collection of the Haynie Family
Aurelia Arbo, decorator; Jonathan Browne Hunt, potter. Vase with abstract pitcher plant design, ca. 1931. Low-relief carving; underglaze with matte glaze. Collection of the Haynie Family
Sarah A. E. “Sadie” Irvine, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Vase with quince design, ca. 1917. Low-relief carving; underglaze with matte glaze. Newcomb Art Collection, Tulane University
Resources
Thank you to our exhibition supporters
