Although the Georgia Museum of Art’s collection includes artwork from around the globe and across centuries, it has always emphasized preserving and showcasing artwork from Georgia and the South. As both an academic museum and the official art museum of the state of Georgia, a title it has held since 1982, the museum is in a unique position to serve as a cultural repository for the state. Recently, the museum purchased a collection of 17 paintings from the family of Dr. A. Everette James Jr. that highlights lesser-known artists who were important to the history of Georgia.
A North Carolina native, James was a renowned imaging expert and former chair of Vanderbilt University’s department of radiology and radiological sciences. He was also a lifelong, avid art collector and dedicated historian who curated many exhibitions and published over 500 articles and 20 books. He and his wife, Nancy Jane Farmer, built a specialized art collection of fine and decorative art that offers impressions of the cultural heritage and dramatic landscapes of the South.
James donated works of art to dozens of museums and educational institutions throughout his life. He believed that these institutions were critical to the research and scholarship necessary to understand and appreciate the important role artists — especially women artists — played in southern history and culture. Since his death in 2017, James’ family has continued his legacy of sharing works and supporting institutions throughout the South.
The museum’s new acquisition includes paintings by artists who took inspiration from the world around them. Augusta Oelschig, a Georgia native from Savannah, was a student of UGA’s renowned art department head Lamar Dodd, who would become an advocate for her artwork. Oelschig’s painting “Young Boy” features a boy who, Oelschig wrote in a letter, “came to my door asking if he could do a job for me — so I gave him a job sitting for me.” In the painting, the young boy looks to the side with a gray background behind him.
Similarly, Nell Choate Jones was a Georgia native and a leader in organizations that promoted the art of the South, such as the Southern States Arts League and National Association of Women Artists (she became president of the latter). Her oil painting “Square at St. Mary’s” is part of this collection. The painting features four people relaxing around a tree outside of a church, showing community interaction and comradery.
James’ son, Everette James III, explained that his family offered the paintings because director David Odo and Shawnya Harris, Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of African American and African Diasporic Art, expressed a strong interest in adding the artwork to the museum’s collection. The museum’s commitment to supporting continued scholarship by UGA faculty and students on Georgia artists assured the family that James’ efforts to highlight the significant roles these artists played in southern culture would be preserved. Likewise, the James family has a close connection with Georgia, with both Everette III and his sister, Jeanette, planning to retire to properties they own on St. Simons Island. Jeanette’s daughter, Elizabeth Whitson, is also a UGA alumn.
These new artworks add to the museum’s collection of 19th- and 20th-century Georgia artists. The purchase also includes works by artists previously not represented in the collection, such as Sydney Bumann, Eleanor Gay-Lee, Hal Alexander Morrison, Christopher Murphy, Myrtle Jones, Hattie Saussy and William Lester Stevens. The museum is grateful to the James family and cannot wait to display these wonderful artworks to the public in the future.
Authored by:
Isabel Davis
