APSU students discover work from two major artists in University’s collection
February 21, 2019
Austin Peay State University (APSU)
Clarksville, TN – As Austin Peay State University (APSU) freshman Sarah Potter combed through the University’s art collection in early February, she came across a photo of a man sitting on a rock, his back to the camera.
“I was looking for personality, for stories,” Potter, who’s curating an exhibit for the walls of Human Resources in the Browning Administration Building, said. “I liked it, so I set it aside with the other photographs.”
Austin Peay State University Art Students Sarah Potter and Katherine Tolleson hold their discoveries. Potter is holding a Philippe Halsman photo print of Winston Churchill, and Tolleson is holding a drypoint by Alphonse Legros.
APSU Folk Art Collection gets donation from Karen Parr-Moody
August 22, 2014
Clarksville, TN – While visiting Austin, Texas, in 2013, Karen Parr-Moody came across a painting by the renowned folk artist Jimmy Lee Sudduth. The dusty image was of a girl in a swimsuit, and it evoked strong childhood memories for Parr-Moody.
“I really identified with going to my grandfather’s fishing camp every weekend on the Tennessee River,” she said. “It’s rustic and beautiful down there. The ‘Bikini Girl’ just reminded me of growing up and being a little girl.”
Karen Parr-Moody and her daughter, Stella, donate Jimmy Lee Sudduth’s “Bikini Girl” to Austin Peay State University. (Taylor Slifko/APSU)
Austin Peay State University to exhibit newly donated folk art collection
March 7, 2013
Clarksville, TN – In a small storage room in the basement of Austin Peay State University’s Harned Hall, Marilyn Monroe is making things a bit awkward for President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie.
First off, the president and first lady are dressed formally, while Marilyn has opted to wear a red polka dot bikini. Then there’s that big smile of hers, which seems to mock the uncomfortable expression on Jackie’s face.
Two folk art sculptures that are part of the Crouch Folk Art Collection. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU)
Ned and Jacqueline Crouch donate folk art collection to APSU
September 5, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The artist, a Civil War veteran and 19th century dentist, carved the peculiar little figurines out of wood. He placed the musicians with their instruments in the back row, and up front, connected to metal wires, stand the dancing couples. Other macabre figures, such as a thin man playing bones and a woman spanking a baby, populate the dioramic scene.
When a crank is turned, a series of pulleys cause the pieces to move and dance in an awkward, dreamlike manner.
“The Circus” is one of several folk art pieces recently donated to APSU by Ned and Jacqueline Crouch. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU Staff).
Generous donation gives APSU three famed William Edmondson Sculptures
January 13, 2011
Clarksville, TN – William Edmondson, a humble stone carver and the son of slaves, died quietly after years of declining health. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Nashville.
It was an ironic fate, given that Edmondson spent years carving elaborate headstones for cemeteries around middle Tennessee. The eccentric artist believed that God commanded him to sculpt the shapes out of limestone, and after a few years, he began adding statues of biblical characters, people and animals to his body of work. His sculptures caught the eyes of several prominent art critics and in 1937, Edmondson became the first African-American artist to have a solo show of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
William Edmondson Sculpture "The Critter".
