Piedmont Art Museum Honors Lillian Smith in Year-Long Exhibition

Join us for “Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Lillian E. Smith: 80th Anniversary Exhibition” at Piedmont University's Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art. The exhibition will be on view September 5, 2024-May 15, 2025. A public reception will take place on Thursday, September 5, 2024. Augusta-based photographer Mark Albertin will give a guest lecture.  

Lillian E. Smith was a social justice activist and acclaimed author who spoke out against racism. This exhibition celebrates the legacy of Smith and the 80th anniversary of her best-known novel, Strange Fruit (1944). It will feature art, books, and personal items from Smith’s collection, including a book signed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Photographs by Albertin and the director of the LES Center, Dr. Matthew Teutsch, will be included as well.  

Smith’s collection is permanently housed at Piedmont University’s LES Center in Clayton, Georgia, where Smith lived and worked. The LES Center serves as an educational center and an artist retreat.  With over 150 acres in the Northeast Georgia Mountains, the Center is surrounded by beauty and is an ideal location for recreational, social, and instructional activities. 

Upcoming events at the museum include guest lectures: Hal Jacobs, director of the 2019 documentary Breaking the Silence, will speak on September 17 at 3 p.m. Additionally, Dr. Eric Solomon, Assistant Professor of English and American Studies at Emory University’s Oxford College, will lecture on the 2020 play The Laramie Project on October 3 at 3 p.m.