Aurelia Josephine Coralie Arbo (1909–1993) was an American artist and educator renowned for her contributions to the Newcomb Pottery tradition, a cornerstone of the Arts and Crafts movement in early 20th-century Louisiana. Born on November 29, 1909, in New Orleans to piano tuner Henry Arthur Arbo and Henrietta Caroline Geier, she was one of nine children in a large family that nurtured her artistic inclinations. Arbo began her formal training at H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (affiliated with Tulane University) in 1927, earning a Bachelor of Design in 1931 amid a vibrant program led by figures like Ellsworth Woodward and Mary Given Sheerer.
Upon graduation, Arbo joined the Newcomb Pottery as a decorator, a role she held until its closure in 1940, earning $50 monthly plus commissions on sales. Working in the distinctive Newcomb style—characterized by incised underglaze decorations of local Louisiana flora and fauna in matte glazes of blue, green, and pink—she collaborated with potters like Francis Ford and Sadie Irvine. Notable works include a "Moon & Moss" vase potted by Ford in the 1930s, a 1933 cream pitcher with Irvine, and ceramic pieces like "Elephant" (exhibited at the 1937 Contemporary Crafts Exhibition in Philadelphia and 1938 Paris Exposition), as well as bowls "Peacock Feathers" and "Butterfly Wings" shown at the 1939 Syracuse National Ceramic Exhibition and Golden Gate International Exposition. From 1939 to 1942, she continued decorating in the Newcomb idiom for Paul E. Cox's short-lived Harahan pottery, receiving pieces in lieu of payment after its failure.
Transitioning to education, Arbo obtained a Louisiana teacher's certificate in 1943 and taught art at Eleanor McMain Secondary School and L.E. Rabouin Vocational High School, including a pioneering course in art interior decoration highlighted in a 1948 Times-Picayune article. Her oeuvre extended beyond ceramics to watercolor fashion illustrations for the Index of American Design (c. 1937), such as *Wedding Dress* and *Cream Taffeta Dress*, with 53 works in the National Gallery of Art collection, alongside a wrought iron cross (c. 1936) and urban landscapes like *Nighttime View of the Downtown New Orleans Skyline*.
Arbo's legacy endures through her role among over 70 Newcomb women decorators, whose technically precise, regionally inspired pottery garnered international acclaim and now graces institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago and Tulane's Newcomb Art Museum. Her multifaceted career bridged studio craft, design education, and public school instruction, embodying the empowering ethos of Newcomb's women-led enterprise.
