Art historian and author

Lenore Hoag Mulryan, 81, an art historian and author who curated exhibitions on Mexican ceramics at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA, died Aug. 26 at UCLA Medical Center after suffering a stroke, said Lawrence Pane, her son-in-law. She had lived in the Pacific Palisades.

For more than 20 years, Mulryan did research on Mexican ceramic art that resulted in exhibits for the Fowler and accompanying books.

“Ceramic Trees of Life,” a 2003 exhibit, traced the history of the decorative, candelabra-like sculptures as far back as Aztec times. “Nagual in the Garden: Fantastic Animals in Mexican Ceramics,” which opened in 1996, included colorful sculptures of imaginary beasts that have been part of Mexican folk art for centuries. The earliest pieces dated from the 3rd century. “Mexican Figural Ceramists and their Work” opened in 1982 and featured works by modern artists.

Born Lenore Hoag on Aug. 25, 1927, in Lompoc, Calif., she graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in 1979.