In the Headlines

Museum and Friends of the Museum logosNew Publication Features Preeminent Artists, Authors, and Scholars Reflecting on Landscapes in Art and Literature during a Time of Unprecedented Change

 American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World
(University Press of Mississippi, November 2023)

American Landscapes

 

Oxford, MS…The University Press of Mississippi (UPM) in association with University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses (UMM/the Museum) is celebrating the release of its latest volume in a series featuring artists and works in UMM’s collection: “American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World.”

The publication is a vibrant result of UMM’s 2019 acquisition of William Dunlap’s seminal painting Meditations on the Landscape in Origins of Agriculture in America (1987). The acquisition was presented in an exhibition of 40 works by Southern artists curated by Dunlap and Melanie Munns Antonelli, UMM Curator of the Collections, revealing a range of interpretations of landscape. On the occasion of the exhibition, Friends of the University of Mississippi Museum and UMM organized a symposium featuring artists, authors, and scholars held in Oxford in March 2019 that included several of the book’s contributors.

The following contributors consider meaning in art and literature past and present, contextualizing the nation’s history—particularly that of the American South—during a time of unprecedented change experienced since spring 2019: [read more]

 


 

Museum Recognized by Mississippi Heritage Trust

 

For more than two decades, the University of Mississippi Museum has been the steward of Rowan Oak, Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Faulkner’s home and grounds, with the support of university leadership and the Facilities Management Department.

The museum’s efforts were publicly recognized Thursday (June 9) with an award from one of the state’s premier historic preservation organizations. [more]

 

“For over 20 years, the University of Mississippi Museum has been the steward of Rowan Oak.  Constructed in the 1840s by Colonel Robert Sheegog, the Greek Revival house was purchase by renown author William Faulkner one hundred years later and was his family home until it donated to the University of Mississippi by his widow in 1972.  Visitors to Rowan Oak today can immerse themselves in the world of William Faulkner and wander the beautifully restored grounds.”— Mississippi Heritage Trust 

 

 

 


 

Record Support Greets Harvest Supper’s Return

 

 

 

December 2021, The annual Harvest Supper fundraiser set new records for attendance and private support for the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses when it returned this fall after being postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic.

About 600 people attended the recent sold-out event, which generated $175,000, said Diane Scruggs, of Oxford, president of the Friends of the Museum Board. The event raised about $125,000 in 2019. [more]

 

 

 

 


 

Jane Becker Heidelberg Endowment for the Arts

Jane Becker Heidelberg and her husband, Rody Heidelberg

 

July, 2017 — The University Foundation just announced the establishment of the Jane Becker Heidelberg Endowment for the Arts.

Web Heidelberg, and his wife, Michelle, of Hattiesburg, have chosen the University Museum as recipient of a $30,000 gift. To honor his mother, a woman who loved the arts and Ole Miss, the endowment for exhibitions and programming will emphasize the work of young or emerging artists.

“The Jane Becker Heidelberg Endowment for the Arts represents arts philanthropy at its very best, and the University Museum is deeply grateful to the Heidelberg family for the creation of this fund in support of emerging artists,” said Robert Saarnio, museum director.

For more about the University of Mississippi alumni to inspired her family’s love for the arts, please  to continue reading about the woman who inspired her family. [more]

 


 

The Mennello Museum of American Art, Orlando — first stop on tour

“The Beautiful Mysterious: The Extraordinary Gaze of William Eggleston” 

June, 2017 — Thanks to the tireless efforts and sponsorship by Friends of the Museum, The University of Mississippi Museum exhibited a series of stunning color and early black-and-white photographs September, 2016, created by the world-reknown, Memphis-born photographer, William EgglestonBy popular demand and extended programming, the exhibit continued through January 14, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. 

Now the The Beautiful Mysterious adorns the walls of The Mennello Museum, Orlando, Florida, for its inaugural opening June 23, on display through September 3rd.  Guest curated by novelist Megan Abbott, Eggleston’s work is making a splash in local media.

“Dubbed the Picasso of photography, a collection of Eggleston’s is set to debut…When color film was introduced, it was a young man hailing from Mississippi who revolutionized the art form with pictures like paintings.” -Florida Central Post   

“William Eggleston’s peculiar eye for color and composition make him a national treasure.” -Orlando Weekly 

 
The Museum acquired the photographs from Dr. William R. “Bill” Ferris, founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, scholar, author and longtime friend of Eggleston. Eggleston’s work was credited with helping establish color photography in the late 20th century as a legitimate artistic medium. “This exhibit allows everyone to know his work, which is part of the legacy of Ole Miss,” said Ferris. [more] 

“Momentous day for UMMuseum exhibit feat. work of Memphis native William Eggleston travels to Mennello Museum”– Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter posted, Twitter

 

 

 


 

Past-President of Friends of the Museum honored by MILA

CLEVELAND, Miss. — Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters (MILA) announced the 38th Annual Award Winners on Saturday, June 3, 2017. Kent Wyatt Hall at Delta State University hosted the event, honoring eleven Mississippi artists, musicians and writers.

The University of Mississippi is pleased to announce Award-Winner in Visual Arts, Carlyle Wolfe, for her piece “Fall”.  Past President of the philanthropic organization, Friends of the Museum, Wolfe extracts silhouettes from her drawings of plants. She then cut paper stencils, until 2016 when she began cutting the delicate silhouette stencils from stainless steel. 

The University of Mississippi also boasts Award-Winner in Photography, Dr. David Wharton for “The Power of Belief: Spiritual Landscapes from the Rural South.” Wharton has served as Director of Documentary Studies and Assistant Professor of Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture since 1999.  The Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Jere Allen, professor emeritus of art at Ole Miss and internationally known figurative artist. 

Local favorites who often provide music at Rowan Oak events, Thacker Mountain Radio Hour received Citation of Merit. For more information visit MILA

 


 

Special thanks to Current Exhibit Sponsors

 
THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM

Lasting Impressions: Restoring Kate Freeman Clark

March 28-July 22, 2017

Lester and Susan Fant
Bank of Holly Springs
David B. Person
First State Bank
Tim and Lisa Lindy
Tyson Drugs, Inc.
Ellis Stubbs State Farm Insurance
 

 


 
ROWAN OAK:

Etchings From William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury by Boyd Saunders

Phil Swan
Friends of the Museum
 


 
SPECIAL EVENTS:

Harvest Supper

Looking ahead: 2018 Harvest Supper, Oct. 12, 2018

Friends of the Museum members deeply appreciate the generosity of sponsors for the dinner, which has become one of the signature events of the Lafayette-Oxford-University community’s fall season.

 

PAST SPONSORS AND DONORS: 2015-2016

A&N Catering Alicia and Jason Bouldin Ashley and John Callery Virginia Chavis
Peggy Adams Norma Bourdeaux Scott Caradine Cicada, Inc.
RJ Allen & Associates Lucia and Louis Brandt Carolyn “Chinney” Carothers City Grocery
Billie Allio David and Shawn Brevard Marti Funke and Brian Carpenter Joy and John C. Clark
Bancorp South Kristy Bridgers Cathead Vodka Langdon Clay
Baptist Memorial Hospital North MS Hughes Brown, PLLC CDP Landscape Architecture Maude Clay
Claiborne and Marian Barksdale Susan Bryan Billy and Julie Chadwick J.D. and Mary Susan Clinton
Diane Davis Barrentine Melissa Swetland and Danny Bulian Lisa Chandler Robin and John Cocke
Bayou Birds Jennifer and Pat Caldwell Diala and Phillip Chaney Dr. and Mrs. Steve Cockerham
Ross Bjork Rachel and David Calhoun Charter Road Hospitality, Inc.  Myrna Colley-Lee

Dr. and Mrs. John Joseph Cook Jason Derrick Diana and Gary Fisketjon Goose Creek
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Tom Corbin Marty and John Dunbar Lassie and Harry Flowers Graduate Oxford
Lee and John Corlew Linda Burgess and Bill Dunlap FNB Oxford Bank Bill & Ashley Griffith
Shelia Cowart John T, Edge and Blair Hobbs Richard and Marilyn Frey Mark and Susan Gunn
Darrell Crawford Vicki and Tim Ellis Eddie and Martha Dale Fritts Kathy Hamilton
Meredith Creekmore Amy Evans and Dr. Marvin King Mary Ann and Don Fruge Lee Harris
Ed Croom Paige and Glen Evans Jack Garner Sam and Mary Haskell
Tom Davis State Farm Insurance Jan and Lawrence Farrington Reba Garner Randy Hayes
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Sam and Mary Haskell Howorth & Associates Architects Dorothy and John Laurenzo Jeff and Elizabeth Lusk
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Tish Horton Lori Liston and Matthew Johnson Amy and Slade Lewis Magnolia Rental
Katrina and Mike Hourin Jerry and Gloria Kellum Amy Lewis, Congressional Staff, Federal Relations Magnolia Wine and Spirits
Capel Howorth Tiffany Kilpatrick Patty and Will Lewis  Robert Malone

 

 

Olivia and Archie Manning Marye and Paul Moore Oxford Property Group LLC Peyton Prospere
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Steve and Rose McDavid Neilsen & Co Michelle Perry Jane Thomas Rogers
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Donna and Charlie Merkel Ron Nurnberg Rebecca and Locke Phillips Robert Saarnio
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Sample & Poole Properties, LLC Tom and Elizabeth Speed The Self Foundation Melody and John Webb
Laurian Scott Robert and Elizabeth Stalder Mary Thompson Brenda West
Diane and Dickie Scruggs Belinda Stewart Sonia and Wright Thompson Ralph and Susan White
Jody and Pick Scruggs Gay and Jack Stubbs Robin and Tod Threadgill Brooke White
Bob and Cindy Seibels Tannehill, Carmean & McKenzie PLLC Trent Lott Leadership Institute Lynn and Will Wilkins
Carolyn and Bill Simmons Blake Tartt III- NRP Oxford UM Steel Band Machelle and Ernie Williams
Mary Louise and Robert Sinclair Pat and Patty Tatum Ralph Vance Lisa and Franklin Williams
Mary and Mark Solomon Dr. and Mrs. Cooper Rosie Vassallo Carlyle Wolfe
Southside Gallery Terry Lynn Vino Wholesale Woodson Ridge Farms
Rose and Hubert Spears Suzan and Tommy Thames Shonda Warner  Margaret Wylde & Ken Wooten

 

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