NEW ORLEANS, LA.- The Moss Mystique: Southern Women and
Newcomb Pottery
February 5–December 4, 2026

In 1895, the art department of H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, a women’s school in New Orleans, established Newcomb College Pottery to allow graduates to apply their design training and earn an income. Decorators embellished functional wares with imagery drawn from regional flora and landscapes, while vessels were thrown by hired craftsmen using locally sourced clays. Promoted nationally and internationally as a distinctive expression of the American South, the pottery emphasized themes of geographic distance from industrialized northern cities and evoked romanticized visions of the region through motifs such as moss-draped oaks and cypress trees familiar from literature of the period.

Although the pottery’s aesthetic evolved and expanded into other media over time, its emphasis on Southern identity persisted until its closure in 1939. Drawn from the permanent collection of the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University, this exhibition examines how these works helped construct and circulate enduring ideas about the American South.

This exhibition is curated by Dr. Elyse D. Gerstenecker, curator of decorative arts at Telfair Art Museums. It is organized by Telfair Art Museums and the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University.

Making Her Mark
February 5–May 15, 2026

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.