Topic: William Edmondson

Austin Peay State University students discover work from two major artists in University’s collection

February 21, 2019 |

Austin Peay State University (APSU)

Clarksville, TN – As Austin Peay State University (APSU) freshman Sarah Potter combed through the University’s art collection in early February, she came across a photo of a man sitting on a rock, his back to the camera.

“I was looking for personality, for stories,” Potter, who’s curating an exhibit for the walls of Human Resources in the Browning Administration Building, said. “I liked it, so I set it aside with the other photographs.”

Austin Peay State University Art Students Sarah Potter and Katherine Tolleson hold their discoveries. Potter is holding a Philippe Halsman photo print of Winston Churchill, and Tolleson is holding a drypoint by Alphonse Legros.

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Austin Peay State University acquires Jenkins and Wynne property

January 27, 2016 |

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University, which turns 90 next year, recently experienced a late growth spurt. Earlier this week, the campus grew by about 10 acres when the school finally closed on property previously owned by the Jenkins and Wynne auto dealership.

The $8.8 million purchase marks one of the largest expansions in the University’s history, and it now connects the 182-acre College Street campus with downtown Clarksville.

Jenkins and Wynne auto dealership property on College Street purchased by Austin Peay State University.

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Austin Peay State University Folk Art Collection gets donation from Karen Parr-Moody

August 22, 2014 |

Clarksville, TN – While visiting Austin, Texas, in 2013, Karen Parr-Moody came across a painting by the renowned folk artist Jimmy Lee Sudduth. The dusty image was of a girl in a swimsuit, and it evoked strong childhood memories for Parr-Moody.

“I really identified with going to my grandfather’s fishing camp every weekend on the Tennessee River,” she said. “It’s rustic and beautiful down there. The ‘Bikini Girl’ just reminded me of growing up and being a little girl.”

Karen Parr-Moody and her daughter, Stella, donate Jimmy Lee Sudduth’s “Bikini Girl” to Austin Peay State University. (Taylor Slifko/APSU)

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APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts Annual Ovation Awards Ceremony set for March 2nd

February 17, 2014 |

Clarksville, TN – In 2010, Dr. Joseph B. Trahern Jr. donated a couple of crude, limestone statues to Austin Peay State University.

The pieces, which had belonged to his late mother, were sculpted by the prominent folk artist William Edmondson, the first African-American artist to have a solo show of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Those donated works, worth tens of thousands of dollars, helped jump-start the University’s burgeoning folk art collection, and they have made the entire community a destination for art enthusiasts.

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Austin Peay State University to exhibit newly donated folk art collection

March 7, 2013 |

Clarksville, TN – In a small storage room in the basement of Austin Peay State University’s Harned Hall, Marilyn Monroe is making things a bit awkward for President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie.

First off, the president and first lady are dressed formally, while Marilyn has opted to wear a red polka dot bikini. Then there’s that big smile of hers, which seems to mock the uncomfortable expression on Jackie’s face.

Two folk art sculptures that are part of the Crouch Folk Art Collection. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU)

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Folk Art Collection donated to Austin Peay State University by Ned and Jacqueline Crouch

September 5, 2012 |

Clarksville, TN – The artist, a Civil War veteran and 19th century dentist, carved the peculiar little figurines out of wood. He placed the musicians with their instruments in the back row, and up front, connected to metal wires, stand the dancing couples. Other macabre figures, such as a thin man playing bones and a woman spanking a baby, populate the dioramic scene.

When a crank is turned, a series of pulleys cause the pieces to move and dance in an awkward, dreamlike manner.

“The Circus” is one of several folk art pieces recently donated to APSU by Ned and Jacqueline Crouch. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU Staff).

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Portraits of Famed Meriwether Family Donated to APSU

June 4, 2011 |

Clarksville, TN – In its heyday, the Woodstock Plantation, where the famed advice-columnist Dorothy Dix was born and raised, was a sprawling 5,000-acre farm that stretched from Montgomery County on up into Todd County, KY. The Meriwethers, a prominent 19th century farming family, owned the enormous estate, and their influence lingers in the area with roads and neighborhoods still bearing their name.

“They’re a very important family in this area,” Christopher Burawa, executive director of the Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, said.

19th century portraits of Charles Nicholas Minor Meriwether and his wife Caroline Huntley Barker Meriwether, two of the founders of Woodstock, and their oldest daughter, Nancy Minor Meriwether Ferguson.

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Generous donation gives APSU three famed William Edmondson Sculptures

January 13, 2011 |

Clarksville, TN – William Edmondson, a humble stone carver and the son of slaves, died quietly after years of declining health. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Nashville.

It was an ironic fate, given that Edmondson spent years carving elaborate headstones for cemeteries around middle Tennessee. The eccentric artist believed that God commanded him to sculpt the shapes out of limestone, and after a few years, he began adding statues of biblical characters, people and animals to his body of work. His sculptures caught the eyes of several prominent art critics and in 1937, Edmondson became the first African-American artist to have a solo show of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

William Edmondson Sculpture "The Critter".

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