Clementine Hunter exhibit opening Jan. 25

A stunning display of original Clementine Hunter artworks will open with a celebratory reception on Saturday, January 25, at 1:30 p.m. in the Union Museum of History and Art, 211 N. Main St., Farmerville, Louisiana. The public is invited to this event which will feature a musical performance by DeAnna Ellsworth and a visit by the artist as impersonated by Jackie Hill. Hosts of the reception will be members of the Grambling State University Alumni local group.
The 40+ artworks are being loaned to the museum through March 5 by Tom Whitehead of Natchitoches, who was a personal friend and advisor to Hunter until her death in 1988. Whitehead, a retired journalism professor at NSU, co-authored a biography of Hunter in 2012. While living and working on the Melrose Plantation in the Cane River region, she began painting in her 50s. Her works reflect her memories of everyday events on the plantation, such as cotton-harvesting, washing, fishing, pecan-picking, and funerals. Hunter never learned to read or write, but is credited with beautifully documenting Black Southern life in the early 20th century, producing an estimated 5000 to 10,000 paintings.