The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA) at Utah State University (USU) and the University Press of Colorado have published Unearthed: The NEHMA Ceramic Collection and the Woman Behind It—a testament to the museum’s exceptional ceramic collection and the indelible impact of its founder, Nora Eccles Treadwell Harrison.

Unearthed is a comprehensive exploration of the history of ceramics west of the Mississippi River since 1900. The 256-page publication features detailed essays by art historians Matthew Limb and Billie Sessions, alongside illustrated biographical entries on more than 200 artists and their artworks. It aims to bring to light the contributions of both renowned and under-recognized artists, women artists, influential women ceramics educators, and Native American ceramicists, ensuring they receive the recognition they deserve within the broader context of ceramics history.

Nora Eccles Treadwell Harrison, who founded NEHMA in 1982, was a passionate collector of ceramics, particularly from regional artists. Her initial donation of 400 works laid the foundation for the museum, and her establishment of an endowment for annual ceramic acquisitions has allowed NEHMA’s collection to grow to over 1,500 pieces. This collection is now considered one of the finest collections of American studio ceramics in the Western United States (see our article on the related exhibit here).

The book highlights works by a diverse array of artists, including Ralph Bacerra, Sam Chung, Philip Cornelius, Dora De Larios, Michael Frimkess and Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Shōji Hamada, Mary Juan, Ban Kajitani, Maria Montoya Martinez, Antonio Prieto, David Shaner, Toshiko Takaezu, Akio Takamori, Joan Takayama-Ogawa, and Fay B. Tso.

The Western United States, with its history of conflicts and cultural exchanges, became a melting pot of ceramic traditions. Influenced by the region’s diverse peoples and landscapes, ceramics from Euro-American, Native North American, East Asian, African American, and Latin American traditions converged to shape a unique artistic legacy. For Nora Harrison, the appeal of ceramics lay not only in the art form itself but also in the sense of community it fostered, from the intellectual circles of San Francisco to the Pueblo matriarchs of the Southwest.

“Unearthed, over a decade in the making, allows us to share our exceptional ceramics collection and highlight Nora’s remarkable legacy,” says Katie Lee-Koven, NEHMA’s Executive Director and Chief Curator. She emphasized the comprehensive efforts to re-examine all 1,500 objects in the museum’s holdings, ensuring a balanced representation of artists across gender, ethnicity, and genres. This research provides a richer and more inclusive understanding of the field of ceramics from the 20th century to the present day.

Unearthed: The NEHMA Ceramic Collection and the Woman Behind It is now available for order through the University Press of Colorado and other online book retailers.

15 Bytes

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.