Meadows Museum Adds to Permanent Collection

When the Meadows Museum opened in 1975, it was home to 350 works of art, ranging from watercolors to drawings to painting. These pieces were all done by French artist Jean Despujoles, who based them on his time in Indochina. As time has gone on, the permanent collection now has over 1,600 works that reflect a range of cultures and traditions from around the world. These include the Stein Collection of Inuit Art, the Carlton Collection of African Art, art by German Expressionist George Grosz, and Louisiana artist Clyde Connell. However, despite the museum have collections of art from various cultures, there were only four artists of color who were represented by their works in the permanent collection. In fact, works by artists of color made up only 35 of the 1,600 works housed by the Meadows. With so many colored artists in the area, this small of a number does not feel like much of a representation to them.

However, this has been noticed by the Meadows Museum director, Alissa Klaus, and the Collection Management Committee for the Museum (which is made up of Centenary staff, contributors, and a member of the student body), and they are beginning to make efforts to fix it. Recently, two pieces were added to the permanent collection—pieces created by two Black artists. Milton A. Fletcher and Frances L. Drew and their art, which are both coincidently named Untitled, are the newest artists to find a home at the museum. Separately, both pieces were offered to the museum by donors within the last year; once they were researched on and voted upon by the Collection Management Committee (which they were unanimously voted for), they were soon cleaned and stabilized to be added to the collection.

Untitled by Milton A. Fletcher (1906 – 1992) was gifted by Polly Hart. Originally from Mississippi, Fletcher moved to Shreveport in 1946 for a job opportunity. Years later and following his retirement, Fletcher found an interest painting, mainly sharing scenes from when he was young. Untitled shows students in a classroom; many look ready for class, with some exceptions—a student sitting on a stool in the corner wearing a dunce cap being one of them. Though the students have a range of skin tones, this painting most likely shows a segregated classroom. When the Brown v. Board of Education ruling occurred in 1954, Fletcher would have been 48 years old. Even then, it was not until 1967 when black students first entered white schools in Yazoo City, Fletcher’s hometown. Untitled most likely was a depiction of Fletcher’s own school experience and what his classroom may have looked like.

Untitled by Frances Drew was donated by Jane Eggerstedt and Donna Burrell. Drew, having lived in Shreveport her whole life, played an active role in the local art community. She was known for her local scenes and how bold they looked. Besides being a painter, she was also a folk and ceramic artist, a poet, and a teacher. In 1995, Drew and fellow artist Barbara Abbott quilted two kiosks at the corner of Texas and McNeil Streets in downtown Shreveport. The mosaics were arranged in patterns found in both African—American and Anglo—American quilt designs and were made of concrete, ceramic tile, and glass. Drew often brought in religion into her artworks, and in Untitled, there is a church behind her subject.

Though these are just two artworks, who they were done by makes their addition to the Meadows Museum significant. This addition gives a small hope of progression and diversity within the permeant collection, even if it is just one artwork at a time.

These pieces are currently on display in the lobby of the Meadows Museum for anyone who wishes to see them.