Friends of Theora

JANUARY 17 – DECEMBER 9, 2023

Painting. "Jacob’s Ladder," ca. 1951-1955, by Stuart Purser

Jacob’s Ladder, ca. 1951-1955, by Stuart Purser

Most people know Theora Hamblett for her paintings of her childhood memories, dreams, visions, and her faith; however, this exhibit examines the external influence of other artists that inspired Hamblett as an emerging artist, student, and observational painter searching for her own artistic voice. Many of the works on view were from her personal collection, collected through art exchanges with artists that she befriended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self Taught Portraits

 

OCTOBER 4, 2022 – APRIL 15, 2023

The selected works in this exhibit share the diversity of portraiture.  Whether it is a famous subject like Martin Luther King Jr., or an unknown caricature of a Jackson reporter we cannot resist the natural inclination to study a human face as a central theme. 

 
 
 
 
 

Untitled (Self-Portrait), unknown date

Ethel Wright Mohamed, (b. Mississippi, 1906-1992)
Applique; cotton, lace, embroidery thread
H. 36.5 x 24.25 inches, framed
Gift of William Reynold Ferris and Marcie Cohen Ferris
2019.001.0021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurred Lines

 

October 25, 2022 -August 26, 2023

This exhibit features works from the W. Forrest and Joan Stevens Collection, including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Alexander Calder, that disrupted the status quo in art, from modernism into the postmodernism movement. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sliced Tomato

Gene GoldenW. Forrest and Joan Stevens Collection2004.6.39
 

Construction, 1972Alexander Calder (American, 1898–1976)original color lithograph93/100 edition, signedW. Forrest and Joan Stevens Collection2004.6.12

 

Gathering

Works by Earl Dismuke

OCTOBER 11, 2022 – APRIL 8, 2023

Circular sculpture in black on a white background

Toro (Uncle Bull), 2022

Earl Dismuke, a Mississippi native, is an abstract expressionist sculptor who gathers and assembles discarded material, mostly metal. Like a Rorschach test for the viewer, his resulting sculptures may evoke playful nostalgia, while others are slightly unsettling and prickly. This is Earl Dismuke’s first solo museum exhibit.

The Fall of 1962

Burning Cars, Marleah Kaufman Hobbs 1963 

 

AUGUST 2, 2022 – JULY 8, 2023

A Collection of Artifacts and Stories of the Ole Miss Riot
On October 1, 1962, the University of Mississippi was officially integrated with the admission of its first African American student James Meredith. The images, personal accounts, and artifacts in this exhibit exemplify the infamous and deadly Ole Miss Riot, a final segregationist opposition to Meredith’s year-long battle for admission.

 

60 years of Integration Logo