Robert Winokur

American, b. 1933

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1933, Winokur developed a keen interest in ceramics during his high school art classes. He pursued these interests at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, Philadelphia, where he received a BFA degree in 1956. He went on to earn an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1958. That same year, Robert married fellow ceramic artist Paula Colton Winokur, and they shared a studio for more than fifty years. Winokur returned to Tyler in 1966 to become professor of ceramics, and later the department chair, until he retired as professor emeritus in 2005. Robert Winokur’s dedication to ceramics research and education led to numerous awards, both nationally and internationally, making him an important figure in the development of twentieth-century American ceramics.