George Ohr: Sophisticate and Rube

Ellen J. Lippert was a tenured professor of art history and Western humanities for over seventeen years. She now uses her writing and research talents to guide millions of people across digital platforms. Her fascination with George Ohr began over twenty years ago in a small, dusty pottery studio in rural Pennsylvania, when she encountered his bent and contorted forms for the first time. Since then, she has created a body of scholarship that grounds Ohr in his late nineteenth-century context and considers him and his wares as products of that unique moment in American history. Her most recent publications have focused on his lesser-studied ＂brothel＂ tokens as objects of cultural currency instead of mere trinkets or gags. Ohr continues to captivate her interest and remains the subject of future research projects.