Cherished: The Art of Clementine Hunter
The LSU Museum of Art (LSUMOA) presents Cherished: The Art of Clementine Hunter, on exhibit July 11–October 13, 2024, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The show includes paintings and objects from the collections of the LSU Museum of Art, the LSU Rural Life Museum, the Alexandria Museum of Art, private collectors, and Hunter’s descendants.
Clementine Hunter was born in 1886 on the Melrose Plantation near Natchitoches, Louisiana. She was completely self-taught and began painting in her fifties, rendering her first composition on an old window blind using art supplies left by a plantation visitor. Painting in the evenings after work, Hunter was prolific, producing vibrant and expressive scenes drawn from her memories of plantation life, celebrations, religious events, and everyday activities. Well-known throughout the region for her art, Louisiana State University (LSU) hosted an exhibition of her work at the campus library in 1971, when the artist was in her eighties. National recognition was to follow, with additional museum shows and significant awards, including an invitation to the White House from President Jimmy Carter, an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Northwestern State University of Louisiana, and the designation as a Louisiana honorary colonel and aide-de-camp. After her passing in 1988, Hunter’s work and life continued to surge in popularity, being collected by museums across the nation.
With over forty objects on view, visitors will get a glimpse into the life of one of Louisiana’s most renowned artists. Hunter used painting as a visual diary—her art was a vehicle to preserve her memories. Cherished explores some of her most repeated patterns, subjects, and motifs, including brightly colored zinnias, church scenes, and women picking cotton, bringing together multiple examples to highlight the subtle variations found in individual objects. The show also explores generational memories, with oral histories collected from Hunter’s direct descendants, those who knew and loved the artist throughout the end of her lifetime
