Eunice Baccich was born in New Orleans in 1895 to Croatian parents. Her early education was at a convent school in the Vieux Carrè, She enrolled as a freshman at Newcomb College in 1913. Baccich graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1918, and was awarded a Bachelor of Design the following year. Between 1919 and 1921, she is listed as a Graduate Art student, joining the ranks of Art Craftsman from 1921–1929.

Baccich specialized in bookbinding, of which she believed was meant to “to preserve the book,” and to “create an artistic work” by designing the cover and end papers in an original way, which would be “in harmony with the contents of the book.”

Appointed Assistant in Bookbinding in 1931, Baccich replaced the former professor, Lota Lee Troy, when Troy assumed the directorship of the Newcomb Art School. Baccich’s name also appears in the Tulane bulletin as a jewelry instructor, and she is listed in the 1930 census as a “bookbinding craftsman.”

Baccich retired from the Newcomb Art School in the spring of 1943 and went to work for the U.S. government as an occupational therapist during WWII. After the war she worked at the New Orleans Public Library.

Baccich died in New Orleans on May 28, 1981.

Henrietta Bailey was one of the more prolific artists at the Newcomb Pottery, working at the school for over 30 years.

Born in New Orleans on February 27, 1874, she enrolled at Newcomb College as a Normal Art student in 1901 and graduated in 1903, only to re-register as a Graduate Art student from 1903–1905. In 1905 she was awarded a prestigious scholarship to study with Arthur Wesley Dow at his summer school in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where she was able to further develop her style of Arts and Crafts decoration.

Bailey is listed in the University yearbook as an independent designer from 1904 until 1909, when she was made an official Art Craftsman. As a Craftsman, she worked as a pottery decorator and as well as a printmaker, and also served as a substitute instructor for China Painting classes. In 1926 she joined the faculty as an art instructor, and she stayed until retirement in 1938.

Bailey’s ceramic work is atmospheric and her blockprints have a recognizable style that feature misty, overcast Louisiana swamps and bayous with “beautiful moonlight, sunlight and early morning overtones.” Her work was exhibited in the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California, and in 1931 she received first prize at Southern States Art Leagues Exhibition, Savannah, Georgia for the best collection of decorated pottery. Bailey also exhibited her ceramics at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Arts Association of New Orleans, and other prominent galleries throughout the South.

Henrietta Davidson Bailey died on November 10, 1950.

Selina E. Bres was born in New Orleans on January 1, 1870, to Jean Baptiste Bres and Elizabeth Adams, a member of the New England Adams family that gave the country two presidents.

Selina Bres is among the early participants in Newcomb’s fledgling art program. In 1886–87, she enrolled in the Saturday drawing classes offered by Tulane University and registered at Newcomb College shortly after. She was a member of the first ceramic decorating class in 1895 and purportedly sold the first piece of Newcomb pottery. Bres received a Diploma in Art in 1896; from 1896 to 1902 she is identified in University publications as a Graduate Art student. She married William B. Gregory, Tulane University professor of Engineering, on June 21, 1898, and later had three children, one being the famed New Orleans sculptor, Angela Gregory.

Bres returned to Newcomb as Art Craftsman in the 1908–1909 and 1909–1910 sessions; she also became a student of voice and piano. The New Orleans City Directories of 1924–1935 list her as a professional artist. She was an active member of the arts community in New Orleans throughout her life, exhibiting with the Artist’s Guild and Arts and Crafts Club, the latter being one she helped to organize.

Selina Bres Gregory died on November 6, 1953 at an American hospital in Paris, France.

Corinne Chalaron was born in New Orleans on November 1, 1900. She worked as an Art Craftsman at the Pottery enterprise between 1922 and 1924. Chalaron’s design aesthetic is easily recognizable. Her nature patterns incorporated tiers unfolding like a lotus, inspired by the 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. Leaving for one year, she came back to Newcomb in the 1925–26 academic session. When Mary Sheerer returned from Paris in 1925, Chalaron embraced the new Art Deco style, utilizing geometric forms to create abstractions that gave her work a unique, syncopated rhythm. The influence of the “modern” may have precipitated her enrollment—while still working at the Pottery—in the Tulane University School of Architecture. She received her Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1926. After graduation, she taught at the state college in Denton, Texas.

Esther Huger Elliot was born on June 4, 1872. She was born deaf, and was raised by her grandmother.

She began her art career as a member of the Saturday art classes offered by Tulane University after the 1884 World Exposition and Cotton Centennial in New Orleans. Adept in the class projects of object drawing and rendering from plaster casts, she enrolled at Newcomb College as a Special Art student in the 1890–91 session. From 1896 to 1905, she is identified in the Tulane Jambalaya as a Special Art student/Pottery worker.

Esther Huger Elliot died November 1957 in Beaufort, South Carolina. She was 85 years old.

Juanita Gonzales was a native New Orleans artist working in ceramics in the 1920s and 30s. She was a Newcomb Pottery craftsman, pottery instructor, and architect designer, and also served as chair of the Newcomb Pottery program from 1931 to 1935.

Coming to Newcomb College originally on a student scholarship in 1921, Gonzales was soon recognized for her unusual talent and ability. Ellsworth Woodward, Director of the art program, said she was one of the most talented girls he had ever known.

After completing the four-year program in Normal Art, Gonzales received a Bachelor of Design in 1925. She left New Orleans for New York to study with Russian avant-garde sculptor and graphic artist, Alexander Archipenko. While in New York, Gonzales worked also as an independent artist, designing dolls and furniture, while further developing her ceramic style.

Gonzales’s work referenced the avant-garde style of her mentor, and her work stands out when compared to other Newcomb Pottery pieces. Often featuring dripping glaze-work, her pottery used bold colors and abnormal shapes. She was one of the only Newcomb potters to use black glaze, and she used glazing as a decorative motif in-and-of-itself, opposed to painting more literal scenes onto her ceramic vessels, as was typical of other Newcomb works at the time.

While serving as chair of the pottery department, Gonzales pushed the artists into a more modern style. It is in this time period that we see less representational pieces coming out of Newcomb. Pottery, such as the Grand Isle vase by Sadie Irvine, is one such example.

Other than teaching and her work as department chair, Gonzales had her own private art studio in the city where she made her own pottery designs, as well as portrait busts and architectural ornaments. The adornments on both the Louisiana State Medical School in New Orleans and the Louisiana State Capitol building in Baton Rouge, for example, are her works.

Unfortunately, Gonzales became gravely ill in February 1935 and had to resign from her post at Newcomb. Her classmate, Angela Gregory, replaced her at the college.

Juanita Gonzales died July 8, 1935.

Sally Shepherd Holt was born June 15, 1873, and began studying art at Newcomb College in 1895. With the exception of the 1913–14 academic session, she served uninterruptedly as an Art Craftsman for the Newcomb Pottery enterprise between 1910 and 1929. A multitalented artist, Holt distinguished herself in a number of mediums that included potter decoration, bookbinding, and stained glass, particularly beaded lampshades. Like her teacher, Mary Given Sheerer, Sally Holt was a notable china painter.

Sally Shepherd Holt died on August 20, 1965 at the age of 92.

Born in New Orleans, Sadie grew up at 1218 Valmont Street with her parents and one sibling. In the 1900 census, her father’s occupation was listed as “Letter carrier”, but appeared to retire by 1930. Sadie’s occupation from 1910 – 1930 was always listed as “Artist – College.” She began her studies, entering college as a Newcomb College freshman in 1902, graduated in 1906 and continued with her graduate studies immediately after, graduating in 1908. She is numbered among the Pottery’s Art Craftsman from 1908-1929 when she became a paid employee of the College until her retirement in 1952. After her retirement, she taught ceramics at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in 1967. During her career, she won numerous awards and received travel and study scholarships, including being exhibited in international expositions. She is buried in the New Orleans Masonic Cemetery along with her parents.

Born in Covington, Kentucky, Mary’s family moved to New Orleans between 1865-1870. Her father, a “Wholesale Grocer” originally listed as a wealthy man, later had to surrender his goods at an auction to pay his creditors. The succession of his estate opened on January 16, 1883, and Mrs. Sheerer and her daughters moved back to Covington in 1886. Between 1886 and 1894, Mary attended the Cincinnati School of Design and at the Art Students’ League of New York City. In 1894, she moved back to New Orleans and began teaching at Newcomb. Never a homeowner, Mary lived close to campus in other people’s homes, campus housing, or sharing a residence with two other faculty members, later creating a “co-operative house” lifestyle in many different locations until her retirement in 1931. In 1932 she moved to Cincinnati and lived with her younger sister, Nan at 2116 Auburn Avenue, No. 1. They were listed at that address until Nan, also a retired teacher, died in 1942. Mary’s later address is unknown, but assumed to be in the Cincinnati area. She died at age 89 in 1954.

Born in New Orleans, Anna Frances “Fanny” lived at 1547 Camp Street with her parents, four other children and her uncle until the early 1900s. According to the 1910 census, the family then resided with 1526 Washington Avenue with more family members. The 1915-1918 New Orleans City Directory listed only her mother and herself living at 1424 Amelia Street and her occupation was listed as “Decorator.” The 1920 and 1930 censuses list her mother (now widowed) and herself as the only occupants of 6314 Freret Street and her occupation was listed as “Pottery Decorator, College.”

Fanny received a Diploma in Art in 1906 from the Newcomb College and continued on as a graduate student, graduating in 1908. Immediately after, she joined the Pottery enterprise from 1908-1923 and 1924-1929, dying a year later in 1930.

Joseph Meyer was a professional potter in charge of throwing the pieces for a thirty-year period from 1896-1927. His mark is found on more pottery than any other artisan in the group. Between 1896 to 1904, Meyer’s eyesight began to fail, so assistants or the professional ceramists helped him. He is noted as helping the Woodwards at the New Orleans Art Pottery and helped to build the kilns when Newcomb set up its pottery. He was a much-admired figure on the campus and the community during his time at Newcomb. ­­