Local trailblazing women like Flannery O'Connor, Frances Wong and Mary Musgrove and others are being honored through portraits at a new exhibit at the Massie Heritage Center.
For Women's History Month, 14 portraits will be displayed at the center as part of the Women of Substance exhibit. The exhibit will highlight Savannah women who made strides in education, historical perseveration, cooking, acting and philanthropy.
The portraits were painted by Venezuelan artist Ana Maria Leonardi and donated to the center to be used for educational purposes, said Massie Center Heritage Specialist Aylea Khuhro.
Credit: Bianca Moorman/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Bianca Moorman/Savannah Morning News
The goal of the exhibit is to educate students, visitors and locals about important Savannah women who contributed to the history of Savannah and the world.
"The one thing they have in common is that they are all from Savannah and they either made their mark here or beyond, "she said.
The paintings will be at the center until the end of March. The women in the portraits are:
- Emma Morel Adler: A preservationist, who helped to create Georgia Day Celebration. She was also a member of the Georgia Historical Society and National Trust for Historic Preservation.
- Mother Mathilda Beasley: A seamstress, teacher, philanthropist and nun who ran a secret school for the enslaved and free black children in the 1850s.
- Juliette Gordon Low: Founded the Girl Scouts of America.
- Mary Lane Morrison: A preservationist and author who served on the Savannah Historical Society
- Sema Wilkes: A chef, restaurateur and proprietress, who ran a legendary boarding house on Jones Street from 1943 to 2002.
- Fredericka Washington: A Black actress and activist who became the head of the Negro Actors Guild.
- Abigail Minis: A colonist, landowner and Revolutionary heroine. She was also a powerful landowner in Coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
- Clermont Huger Lee: A renowned local landscaper and architect.
- Nancy N. Lewis: A philanthropist who helped support SCAD, Savannah Christian Preparatory School, the Jepson Center for the Arts and Telfair Academy.
- Mamie George S. Williams: The first woman from Georgia and first Black woman to be appointed to the National Republican Committee.
- Mary Musgrove: An interpreter, businesswoman and landowner of Creek Indian and English descent.
- Frances Wong: An educator and administrator in Savannah. She was principal at Myers Middle School, Windsor Forest and Jenkins High schools.
- Madam Freeman: A beautician who owned and operated Madam Freeman's Beauty School in Savannah.
- Flannery O'Conner: An author who wrote novels and short stories in the Southern Gothic style. She won three O'Henry awards for short fiction in before she died from lupus in 1964.
More information can be found by going Women of Substance on the Massie Center website.
Bianca Moorman is the education reporter. Reach her at BMoorman@gannett.com or 912-239-7706. Find her on Twitter @biancarmoorman.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Massie Heritage Center highlights trailblazing Savannah women with art exhibit
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