Portrait exhibit opens at Cultural Center

Madison history came alive on Friday, March 20, with the opening of the newest exhibit at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, “The Many Faces of Madison: A History of Portrait Painting in the Piedmont.”

The exhibit spans 200 years of portrait painting in the Piedmont area of Georgia and is presented by the Cultural Center in celebration of the Madison Bicentennial celebration.

With 35 portraits dating from the late 18th century through 1985, this significant exhibit showcases individuals who helped shape Madison and Morgan County into the culturally rich area it is today.

Among the recognizable family names in the exhibit are Walker, Bonar, Vason, Candler, Hunt, Saffold, Kolb, Lambert, and Newton. Included in the exhibit are portraits of Capt. John C. Curtright (1830-1862), Confederate soldier and relative to six U.S presidents, Amelia Earhart and Walt Whitman (portrait courtesy Candler/Hunt family); Gen. Jeptha Vining Harris (1782-1856), a veteran of the War of 1812, member of the Ga. State Senate, and UGA Trustee from 1832-1856 (permanent collection of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia); Robert Battey, great grandfather of John Symmes (deceased) of Madison and credited with performing the first female hysterectomy in the country (portrait courtesy of Jane Symmes); and two portraits, sequential in nature, of native Madisonian John Thomas Newton (1916-2003), courtesy of Victoria Newton Mooney.

Curated by Spalding Nix of Spalding Nix Fine Art and Antiques in Atlanta, the final mix of portraits selected has been based on media mix, historical significance, and portrait personality. Personal histories detailing how the individuals helped shape the Piedmont area accompany each portrait. The exhibit will remain at the Cultural Center through June 30, 2009.

In conjunction with the “Many Faces of Madison” exhibit and in collaboration with the Morgan County school system, the Cultural Center is proud to offer an auxiliary show and reception of modern portraitures by students at the elementary, middle, and high schools. The show and reception is Friday, April 3, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Cultural Center annex (The Hall). This show has been coordinated by Laura Rice, art teacher at Morgan County Elementary School, and the public is invited to attend.

For more information about these exhibits or other events and performances at the Center, please visit the Web site at www.mmcc-arts.org or call the Center at 706-342-4743.