Brown Bag Lecture to Feature "The Remarkable Life of Theora Hamblett" Tuesday

The public is invited to attend the J.D. Williams Library for a Brown Bag lecture Tuesday as Dr. Ed Meek, assistant vice chancellor emeritus for Public Relations and publisher of HottyToddy.com, and Marti Funke, collections manager of the University Museum and Historic Houses, will share about “The Remarkable Life of Theora Hamblett: Stories of Friendship and Art.”

In the lecture, which is part of the spring lecture series hosted by the University of Mississippi Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections, Meek and Funke will discuss the life, legacy and artwork of Mississippi artist Theora Hamblett (1885-1977). 

Some of Hamblett‘s most prominent series of paintings include the “Children’s Games” collection and the “Dreams and Visions” collection, which Hamblett only gave to close friends making the collection rare and particularly special for the University Museum to have on display. 
By the end of the ’60s, Hamblett’s paintings were featured in major collections – the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rockefeller’s art collection and others. UNICEF also used Hamblett’s paintings for Christmas cards in the ’60s.
In Hamblett’s own home, one could find many of the “Dreams and Visions” paintings, and she would tour trusted guests through the series. She only let a few of the paintings go to close friends during her lifetime. When she died, the University Museum received the remaining paintings from her home. 
The Theora Hamblett lecture takes place at noon, Tuesday, March 6, in the Faulkner Room of the Archives and Special Collections of the J.D. Williams Library on the Ole Miss campus.

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By Randall Haley, Editor-in-Chief of HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at randall.haley@hottytoddy.com.