Alex Combs, Alex Duff Combs

Born 1919  Hazard, Kentucky

Died 2008  Halibut Cove, Alaska

EDUCATION

1952 MFA Temple University, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1942-1945 Deep Sea Salvage Diver, US Navy, Italy

 1952-1955 Professor, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 1955 Potter, Anchorage, Alaska 

 1956 – 1962 Superintendent of Art, Anchorage Public School Districts, Anchorage,Alaska

 1962-1979 Professor, Anchorage Community College, Anchorage,  Allaska

BIOGRAPHY

 Alex Duff Combs is known as a potter who worked in stoneware, as well as a painter and a designer.  Combs worked in an abstract expressionist style and is credited with introducing some concepts of modern and contemporary art in Alaska.

In 1975, Combs designed a concrete frieze for an addition to the Anchorage Art Museum which consisted of 40 panels, each weighing several tons[1]. 

The Alex Combs Award created in his honor is given every year to an Alaskan artist.

Public Collections

American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California

Anchorage Art Museum, Anchorage, Alaska

Bibliography

Dunham, Mike and Debra McKinney. “Alex Duff Combs Brought Alaska Modern Art.” Annette Potter Family Genealogy: Potter Family, May 24, 2008.

http://yeahpot.com/combs/alexduff.html

Southern Highland Craft Guild