Eudorah Moore

Eudorah Moore (b. 1918, d. 2013) was a curator and champion of California craft and design. Moore moved to Pasadena in the 1940s, where she was deeply entrenched in the arts community. In the early 1950s, she established the Pasadena Arts Alliance and served as its founding president.

In 1957, she became Board president of Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon Museum of Art) and was later appointed Curator of Design in 1962. During her tenure at the Museum, she helped to highlight handcrafted arts and California design, blurring the distinction between art and craft. Moore transformed the Museum’s California Design exhibition series from an annual presentation of contemporary furniture to an encompassing triennial, showcasing the diversity and artistry of California craft.

Moore curated three iterations of California Design for the Museum, and then two additional shows after leaving the institution. Shortly before her departure, Moore curated the seminal show Islands in the Land, exhibiting works by craftsmen from the Southern Appalachians and the Valley of the Rio Grande in New Mexico.

Between 1978 and 1981 she was the crafts coordinator at the National Endowment for the Arts, where she campaigned for greater craft recognition and increased financial support for artists.

In recognition of her longstanding and visionary commitment to craft, Moore received numerous honors including the Smith College Medal and an honorary doctorate from California College of the Arts.