Moran's Art Studio in Biloxi, MS is a family business that chronicles the artist talent of the Moran family, a family whose talent began with George E Ohr, the famous potter from Biloxi, Mississippi. George was known as the Father of American Pottery. The original Moran's Art Studio was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the museum was reopened in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
Joe Moran, George's grandson is known for his talented paintings and drawings. When his desire to own a boating business was destroyed by a hurricane in 1947, he put his love of boats and water on canvas. Many claim his artwork helped to preserve the gulf coast through his artwork. In addition to his artistic ability and talent, Joe is also an excellent photographer. He had an entire collection of his work on slides, which luckily were removed from the museum, saving them from being destroyed by the hurricane.
Although Joe passed away in 1999, his work is still displayed in many places, including the Smithsonian and the White House. His children, Mary, Tommy and Cindy have also inherited his talent in the art world.
Mary's work is displayed all through the Gulf Coast as well as beyond that area. She particularly steers towards wildlife and underwater scenes. The use of lithographs and canvas transfers has enabled Mary to more widely display her work. The new gallery in Ocean Springs displays a lot of her work.
Tommy is also a renowned painter in his own right. His love of the gulf coast is easily put on canvas for the world to enjoy. His paintings have a very lively appearance as well as looking three-dimensional.
Cindy is the expert on matting and custom framing. Because of her artistic talent and skillful designing mind, she's able to display work with the best artistic professionalism.
Many of the prints from the original museum were in the process of being digitized, saving them from Hurricane Katrina. The Moran's are attempting to rebuild the new museum to the same inventory level as pre hurricane.
