The Friends of the Museum has planned a day filled with art and history in our neighboring town of Holly Springs on November 1, 2019.

We will leave from the UM Museum at 9:30 a.m. in a chartered bus and return at 4:30 p.m. Highlights of the trip include a tour of Burton Place, home of David Person; a tour of the Ida B. Wells Barnett Museum; and tours of places connected to her, the Yellow Fever Church and the historic Holly Springs depot. Lunch will be served at the Kate Freeman Clark Gallery. The final stop will be the studio of artist Randy Hayes. Below is more information about each stop and what to expect.

The cost of the tours, including lunch and all fees, is $50. Reservations must be received by October 23. No refunds after this date.

Registration is closed.

A Day of Art and History in Holly Springs, Mississippi

1^st stop:  Burton Place — Built in 1848 by Mary Malvina Shields Burton, the home has both Federal and Greek Revival architectural details and sits on its original antebellum lot. For many years it was called “Fleur de Lys” after the decorative cast iron fence that surrounds the property. Slaves’ quarters beside Burton Place have been carefully preserved and offer a rare look into the lives of the slave population. David Person, current owner of Burton Place, will give guests a “Mimosa Tour” of his home and the slave quarters.

2^nd stop:  Kate Freeman Clark Gallery tour and lunch  — When Kate Freeman Clark returned to her ancestral home at Freeman Place in Holly Springs, few knew that she had spent 29 years in New York studying and socializing with world-class art masters of the day. She had become an accomplished painter, especially with plein air landscapes, and was recognized with exhibitions at impressive venues in the Northeast. What townspeople found out within months of her death would be hard to fathom – that the spinster they knew as a typical Southern lady had created over 1,200 paintings and drawings, and they were being given to the enjoyment of Holly Springs, along with her home and funds to build a “museum of fine and social arts.” Thus began the Kate Freeman Clark Art Gallery. Lunch will be catered by Belles and Books, with proceeds going to the Gallery.

3^rd stop:  Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum — Ida B. Wells was known nationally and internationally as a “crusader for justice.” She traveled throughout the United States and foreign countries raising awareness of oppression of African Americans and women. Born on July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, she was orphaned at the age of 16 when her parents died as victims of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878.  Wells-Barnett received her education and early training at Shaw University, now Rust College. She became a teacher, journalist, and public speaker.

She married Ferdinand Barnett, owner of the Chicago Conservator. Wells-Barnett was one of two women who signed “the call” for the formation of the NAACP. She was also known for being an anti-lynching crusader. Rev. Leona Harris, Executive Director of the museum, will give guests a passionate overview of the museum before the next event.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett Bus Tour —  This narrated tour begins at the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum with stops at the Yellow Fever House and the historic Holly Springs Depot, a recently renovated structure that put the city on the map more than a century ago when it was owned by the railroad.

Final stop: Studio of Randy Hayes — Hayes says his desire to confirm reality through drawing began as a boy growing up near Clinton, MS. He studied sculpture and painting with Lawrence Anthony at Rhodes College, took a freighter to Europe when he was 19, then came back and earned a B.F.A. degree in 1968. He spent time in Boston working with a PBS affiliate before moving to Seattle in 1976. In Hayes’ words, “by chance and design, about 1990, I developed a method of painting directly onto grids of photographs.  This is my primary method of working today.” He returned to Memphis and Mississippi in 2013.