Historic Knight Library: Art & Architecture

Lydia Herrick Hodge was founder and executive secretary of the Oregon Ceramic Studio where the ceramic bowl in the Browsing Room was created.

Lydia Herrick Hodge was born on August 7, 1886, in Valparaiso, Indiana. She came to Oregon in 1922 when her husband, renowned geologist Edwin T. Hodge, accepted appointment at the University of Oregon. In 1927 she obtained a degree in art from the University of Oregon.  In 1935, Hodge brought together UO alumni to establish an Art League and soon followed the creation of the Oregon Ceramic Studio in 1937. Built with WPA funding to provide support for in the Depression, the volunteer-run studio site offered a place for exhibits, art sales, educational programs. Nationally recognized as a major craft center, the studio also provided the largest kiln on the West Coast. Lydia Hodge died on September 17, 1960, in Portland.

A permanent location for the Oregon Ceramic Studio was established in 1938 at 3934 Southwest Corbett Avenue and was designed by H. Abbott Lawrence. In 1965, the studio became the Contemporary Crafts Gallery; in 2002, the Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery; and in 2007, the Museum of Contemporary Craft. In 2007, the museum moved to a location in Portland’s Pearl District. The museum was integrated into the Pacific Northwest College of Art's Center for Contemporary Art & Culture in 2016.

FLOOR PLANS & ART GUIDE

SOURCES

"Art Leader Dies at 74." Oregonian, September 19, 1960.​

“Ceramic Studio Sends Out Bids for Tea Opener.” Sunday Oregonian, November 13, 1936, 7.

Jones, Catherine. “Open House to Be Held from 10 A. M. to 5 P.M..” Sunday Oregonian, November 13, 1938, 8.

Lynn, Martha Drexler. American Studio Ceramics : Innovation and Identity, 1940 to 1979. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015. Hodge's groundbreaking role in promoting ceramic arts and crafts is described in this book.