Athens, Ga. – The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will hold its eighth Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts Feb. 4-6.
The symposium is held every other year and is the second largest event of its kind on the East Coast. Scholars from across the state, region and nation attend to deliver original research papers over the course of three days, which the museum then publishes in book form. This year’s theme is “Folk and Folks: Variations on the Vernacular.”
Robert M. Hicklin Jr., proprietor of Charleston Renaissance Gallery, will deliver the keynote address, “The Story of Southern, in Pictures,” Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. Hicklin’s talk is free and open to the public, thanks to the sponsorship of the Georgia Humanities Council. Symposium lectures will take place in Mahler Hall at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
Shuttles will be available to take guests from the Georgia Center to the museum for a reception following the lecture, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
Events Feb. 5 and 6 will include talks by:
• Laura Barry, Juli Grainger Curator of Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, “The Illusive Miss Cox: The Search for the Identity of a Chalky Level Portrait.”
• Deborah Prosser, dean of libraries, University of North Georgia, “Women in a Man’s World: Louise Dubose and the Battleship Georgia Silver.”
• Caroline G. Rainey, master’s candidate in historic preservation, UGA, “Starrs and Stripes: Georgia Silver and Southern Filibusters.”
• Jeanne Cyriaque, coordinator for African-American programs, historic preservation division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, “Three Georgia Women of Achievement and the Homes They Left Behind.”
• Eric Whisman, associate director, Kentucky Trust for Historic Preservation, “A Grouping of North Georgia Inlaid Chests.”
• Beth Fowkes Tobin, professor of English and Women’s Studies, UGA, “John Abbot: Georgia’s Artist-Naturalist.”
• Susan Falls, professor of anthropology, and Jessica R. Smith, artist and fibers professor, Savannah College of Art and Design, “The Jackson Sisters, Colonial Revival and Modernity.”
• Johanna Brown, director of collections and curator of Moravian decorative arts, Old Salem Museums and Gardens, “‘Received … in the Most Friendly Manner’: Moravians in Georgia.”
• Sarah Kate Gillespie, curator of American art, Georgia Museum of Art, “Picturing Southern Craft: Photography and Doris Ulmann.”
• Kathleen Staples, independent scholar, “Teach Me to Feel Another’s Woe: Mary Jane Smithey’s Memorial Embroidery.”
• Kelly Kean, doctoral candidate in early American history, University of California, “The Creolized Kitchen: Interpreting the Life of a Catawba Indian-Made Pan from Urban Charleston, 1800-1830.”
• Joseph Litts, undergraduate history student, Clemson University, “A Masked Tradition: British Porcelain and Georgia Folk Pottery.”
• Suzanne Hood, curator of ceramics and glass, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, “Jug or Vase: A Georgia Flower Vessel Explored.”
• Courtney L. Magill, lab manager, Architectural Conservation Laboratory, and postgraduate research fellow, University of Pennsylvania, “The Taufschein of Mary Margaret Houseal: A Glimpse in German American Life in the Dutch Fork, South Carolina.”
• Elizabeth A. Davison, independent scholar, “A Fresh Coat of Paint: Recent Findings on Craftsman Johannes Spitler.”
• Dale L. Couch, curator of decorative arts, Georgia Museum of Art, “A Preliminary Report of a Group of North Georgia Painted Furniture.”
• Sumpter Priddy III, independent scholar, “‘The Tree of Life, My Soul Hath Seen’: Painted Dower Chests in Walton County, Georgia.”
Decorative arts exhibitions on view at the museum during the symposium include “Georgia’s Girlhood Embroidery: ‘Crowned with Glory and Immortality'” and “Cherokee Basketry: Woven Culture.” The museum’s two permanent collection galleries of decorative arts (the Martha and Eugene Odum Gallery and the Phoebe and Ed Forio Gallery) will also be reinstalled by the symposium, with a fresh look.
The full symposium package (including all breaks, lunches and evening events) is $285. Attendance at lectures only is $85. UGA students may attend for free but must register. The Georgia Center will handle all registrations. For more information about the symposium, including a full schedule of lectures and events, contact the Georgia Museum of Art at 706-542-4662 or visit http://bit.ly/greenbrochure2016. Visit http://bit.ly/Green2016 to register.
The lead sponsor for this project is the Forward Arts Foundation. The keynote lecture sponsor is the Georgia Humanities Council. Other sponsors include: Mr. and Mrs. B. Heyward Allen Jr.; Dr. Larry H. Beard and Linda N. Beard; Brunk Auctions; Mr. and Mrs. E. Davison Burch; Mary and Billy Burdell; Elizabeth B. Chastain; Linda and David Chesnut; Deanne Deavours and Sally Hawkins; Epting Events; Sylvia and Robert Gibson; Kathryn and Henry Green; Helen C. Griffith; Fran and Skip Hilsman; Jennifer and Gregory Holcomb; Christopher Howard and Carey Pickard; Sandra Strother Hudson and Cecil C. Hudson, M.D.; Julie G. Jenkins; John and Marilyn McMullan; Jackie and Anthony Montag; Marian and Carl Mullis; Anne and Bill Newton; Letitia and Rowland Radford; Jane Royal, Madison Markets; Betty A. Slaton and T. Marion Slaton; Margie Spalding; William Dunn Wansley, in memory of Louise Dunn Gibson Wansley and in honor of Stevi Smith Wansley and Elizabeth Dunn Wansley; and Professor and Mrs. John C. Waters. Additional support provided by Mr. and Mrs. Hix Green, Mitzi S. Hagan and Claire and Boone Smith.
Museum Information
Partial support for the exhibition and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on UGA’s East Campus. The address is 90 Carlton St., Athens, Ga., 30602-1502. For more information, including hours, see georgiamuseum.org or call 706-542-4662.
