Making Her Mark
- DURATIONFebruary 5 – May 15 2026
- RECEPTIONThursday, March 5, 2026, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m
- CURATED BYSierra Polisar, Head of Collections, and Kendyll Gross, Assistant Curator, at the Newcomb Art Museum.
- ARTISTS, POTTERS, & DESIGNERSWayman Adams, JC Chaplain, Katharine Lucinda Wilson Elder, Sarah Agnes Estelle “Sadie” Irvine, Emilie de Hoa LeBlanc, Marie de Hoa LeBlanc, Ruth Maddox, Jospeh Fortune Meyer, AEV Lilley and W Midgley, Rita Marie Roger, Anna “Fanny” Frances Connor Simpson, unknown artists, and unknown Newcomb artisans
- EVENTS & PROGRAMS
Newcomb decorators and potter Joseph Meyer in the Washington Avenue campus ceramics studio, c. 1905–06. Newcomb Archives – Photo Archives Collection
Making Her Mark traces the stages of pottery production within the Newcomb Pottery business model. Graduates of the Newcomb College art program created decorative ceramic wares that were sold in an on-site gallery, exhibited at world’s fairs, and distributed nationally. Committed to handcraft and design amid the Industrial Revolution, the enterprise demonstrated how art and production could be integrated into a viable commercial model. As founder Ellsworth Woodward stated, the pottery aimed to “furnish employment for those trained and qualified” and to prove “art a practical matter related to the world of affairs.” While decorative pottery movements flourished in England and the northeastern United States, Newcomb Pottery was distinctive for its Deep South location, its ties to a college program, and its base in New Orleans—a global port city that facilitated national and international reach. The exhibition documents the full scope of this enterprise, from classroom training and production to bookkeeping and sales. Over its 53-year history, Newcomb Pottery employed more than 90 women artists and produced over 70,000 unique works.
Making Her Mark is co-curated by Sierra Polisar, Head of Collections, and Kendyll Gross, Assistant Curator, at the Newcomb Art Museum.
