The week-long celebration of Flannery O’Connor’s 100th Birthday brings never-before-seen artwork created by the author to GCSU. 

The art show highlighted a special aspect of O’Connor’s life and connected to the greater goal of the “Flannery at 100” celebration honoring the Milledgeville legend.

The art exhibit was open to the public on March 26 in the Magnolia Ballroom from 9 to 5 p.m.

Attendants were able to view 70 pieces of artwork created by O’Connor, ranging from portraits, wood carvings and a doll. 

The exhibit featured pieces made from all stages of O’Connor’s life. 

One section displayed many carvings made into wooden canvases, for which O’Connor would later gain notoriety while working with the Georgia State College for Women newspaper, “The Colonnade,” and the school magazine, “The Corinthian.” 

Another portion of the exhibit showed paintings created in the later years of O’Connor’s life. 

After being diagnosed with lupus and moving back into her childhood home, O’Connor began to paint images of Andalusia Farms and scenes of nature, many of which were on display at the exhibit. 

O’Connor’s art focused on similar themes or nature, birds, which O’Connor was a known admirer of, and day-to-day life within Milledgeville.

The showcase embodied the Southern Gothic style and reflected themes of O’Connor’s literature into visual arts. 

Cassie Munnell, curator of Andalusia, home of O’Connor, was involved in the planning process for the pop-up exhibit. 

“This artwork was all in the care of Louise Florencourt, Flannery’s first cousin, and in the Mary Flannery O’Connor Charitable Trust,” Munnell said. “In 2023, the paintings were brought over to Andalusia.”

The pieces were stored at Andalusia while agreements were made to showcase them. 

The exhibit was officially announced earlier this year, just in time for O’Connor’s 100th birthday. 

“We’ve been planning on it for a while, so it’s really good that we are able to share it with the public,” Munnell said. 

O’Connor is one of the most famous authors of the Southern Gothic genre and a cherished figure in Milledgeville history, however, until recently little was known about her artwork. 

“She herself was a big believer that all authors should also do art because it helps you think about the world and visualize what you’re thinking,” Munnell said. 

O’Connor felt that creativity was something intentional that could only be formed through dedication to her work; she believed in the habit of art. 

The term was mentioned by O’Connor several times in her collection of essays and speeches, “Mystery and Manners.” 

“I think it is a way of looking at the created world and of using the senses so as to make them find as much meaning as possible in things,” O’Connor said in the collection.

The pieces of artwork showcased at the exhibit give deeper insight into O’Connor’s creative process and how she viewed the world as inspiration for her writing. 

“The paintings give us views into how she saw things, how the farm and Milledgeville looked in the past, and also potential hints of newer connections and understandings of her childhood with some of the wood carvings,” Munnell said.

Many people, including GCSU students, members of the Milledgeville community and fans of O’Connor’s work, came to the art show to view the works in person. 

Anabel Kissel, a sophomore mass communication major, visited the gallery and enjoyed the art.

“I heard about it from the Georgia College press release,” Kissel said. “I keep up with it for the WGUR news segment I do, and I thought it would be a unique event to attend.”

Kissel is familiar with O’Connor’s literature but had not seen a lot of the author’s art before the event. 

“It was really interesting,” Kissel said. “I liked all of the paintings and seeing O’Connor’s work. I didn’t know she was an artist and an author.”

J.D. Caulley, a junior English major, also appreciated seeing O’Connor’s art. 

“All of the paintings were really cool to see,” Caulley said. “My favorites were the self-portrait and the wood carvings.”

The art exhibit and other events that occurred during the week are reminders of GCSU’s most famous alumni and renowned author O’Connor.