The University of Mississippi Museum & Historic Houses

by

Visitor, Restoration, and Faulkner News

Visitor News
Rowan Oak has welcomed 6,744 visitors sinceMay and hosted several events including the Friends of the Museum’s annual banquet and fundraiser, the Harvest Supper, on October 10th. Also of note, former Senator Trent Lott and former Senator Phil Gramm of Texas visited Rowan Oak on October 11th and the next day Texas Governor Rick Perry stopped by for a visit. Rowan Oak also hosted a catered picnic lunch for Senator Cochran’s staff on October 18th.

news18

The staff of the popular NPR/PRI radio program “Whad’Ya Know” with Michael Feldman visited on September 27th with local celebrity Kaye Bryant, which was a lively affair.

A southern literature seminar from Colorado College visited Rowan Oak for a week in September where they had a seminar on the grounds that discussed time and characters in Faulkner’s novels. They also toured the area including Elvis’ Graceland, the opposite end of historic house management, but agreed that Rowan Oak was their favorite.
On Saturday, September 7, 150 Chi Omega alumnae from New York to California and many states in between, plus collegians from Tau chapter at Ole Miss enjoyed a glorious fall day with lunch on the grounds of Rowan Oak. They were hosted by Friends of the Museum Board member Mary Ann Frugé. Many of the guests arrived via a walk through Bailey’s Woods and delighted in the trail as well as the first view of the home and grounds. A Southern picnic lunch of fried chicken, pimento cheese, biscuits and other treats as well as strawberry shortcake catered by Elizabeth Heiskell was enjoyed by all. Rowan Oak curator Bill Griffith presented an educational program about Rowan Oak and Mr. Faulkner. Following lunch, guests toured Rowan Oak and left with an enhanced respect and admiration for Faulkner and his home.
Restoration of the Sunken Garden
Evelyn and Michael Jefcoat of Laurel, MS have committed to help fund the restoration of the sunken garden at Rowan Oak. We are in the very beginning stages of this project but are excited to get it under way. Kevin Risk, LSU landscape architecture faculty, wrote the cultural historic landscape report for Rowan Oak and has agreed to advise us on this very ambitious project. The Jefcoats previously funded the reconstruction of the gazebo at Rowan Oak. The original gazebo was flattened by a fallen tree in the mid 1980s. We cannot thank the Jefcoats enough for their past support and continued confidence and enthusiasm for Rowan Oak.
Faulkner News
The 2014 Faulkner Conference will discuss Faulkner and History. It will take place July 20–24, 2014 at the University of Mississippi. This is the 41st anniversary of the annual conference.
James Franco’s AS I Lay Dying premiered at the historic Lyric theatre on October 21st to a packed house. It is available for purchase on iTunes after October 22 and releases on DVD November 5th. The film was well received by the crowd and certainly raised Faulkner awareness around town.

by

On Loan: Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Untitled (Abstraction, Lake George) traveled to the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York to be part of an exhibition titled, Modern Nature: Georgia O’Keeffe and Lake George,  that will also travel to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe and the deYoung Museum in San Francisco.

news8

“This intriguing painting in the collection of the University of Mississippi Museum may have been inspired by a forest fire Georgia O’Keeffe witnessed during her first summer at Lake George in 1918. While it appears, at first glance, to be a wholly abstract or a non-objective composition, the central conical shape of brilliant orange is evocative of fiery flames encircled by the blue sky. Although O’Keeffe rarely addressed natural phenomena in her work, her response to the occurrence of fires and storms was a unique feature of her Lake George years. Part abstraction, part evocation, this intriguing image greatly enhances our understanding of O’Keeffe’s initial response to the dramatic atmosphere at Lake George,” said Chief Curator Erin B. Coe at the The Hyde Collection.

The painting will return in late Spring 2014. We are excited to be a part of an exhibition of such beautiful and interesting paintings depicting the influence and long relationship O’Keeffe had with Lake George.On Loan 

by

Dreams and Visions

TH_Birds_in_flight-01

After returning from the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, MS, the UM Museum displayed a selection
of Theora Hamblett’s rarely seen Dreams and Visions collection. Included in the exhibition is a newly gifted Dreams and Visions painting, which has never been displayed in a public venue. Birds in Flight was a gift from Kathryn and Brian Chivers in honor of their aunt, Mary Faith Brunson. Brunson, a 1944 University of Mississippi alumna, was the director of public relations of Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta, GA.  She also served on the board of directors of the American Booksellers Association from 1966 to 1976 and was the organization’s president from 1970 to 1972.

“We are so grateful to the Brunson family for their generosity in thinking of the Museum as a home for this piece.  It is a refreshing addition to the collection as the Dreams and Visions collection rarely gets gifted as they were usually retained by Theora as personal possessions or were personal gifts from Theora,” said Collections Manager Marti Funke.

 

by

Museum Education and Outreach

Education and Outreach programs
are reaching unprecedented numbers
of children and families!

news6A museum visit can have a truly profound impact on a young learner’s view of the world,art, and history.At the University Museum, our educational programming is designed to transport audiences to ancient civilizations, introduce viewers of all ages to art, and create memorable experiences. In the past year, the Museum’s programs have expanded and developed, offering new creative opportunities for children as young as the age of two exploring the galleries with their parents or grandparents in our Mini Masters program.

Of the many programs at the Museum, our Traveling Trunk and Outreach programs have experienced the most growth. Through valued community partnerships like that with Leap Frog After School program and our free traveling trunk program for schools and organizations, we are able to offer free outreach programming to at-risk students.

news3

We have also formed a new partnership with the Scott Center special needs students, and it is a joy to be able to share our collections and see people of all different abilities connect with our collections in new and diverse ways. As of October 2013, our Outreach programs had already reached over 8,000 students this year alone. The key to the success of these programs has been forming connections and partnerships with teachers, and we are proud that now through our partnership with the UM-Tupelo campus more Tupelo teachers are benefiting from our trunk program as well!

news4

In addition to regular Family Activity Days, we want the Museum to be a place for adults and young children to explore together on their own. The Museum has just received generous funding from the Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow to create an Interactive Education Area and additional funds from the Friends of the Museum for a Family Learning Guide throughout the galleries. This project is one that we hope will make the museum a more accessible and engaging place for families
with children of all ages.