Finding artwork and biographical information for the lesser-known Dixie Art Colonists is a task that takes significant research, time, and tenacity. When researching these artists, our most fruitful source has been the family of some of the more widely-known colonists.
Lucile Whitten Sharp, Untitled: Fall Landscape, 1948, 20x24 inches; LWS-2021.AW.0001
After searching for more than six years, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of this 1948 oil painting by Dixie Art Colony artist Lucille Whitten Sharp. This oil on canvas is in excellent condition and framed in its original gold leaf frame with fragments of two exhibition labels located on the frame's reverse side.
Lucille Burt Whitten (Sharp) was born on October 4, 1883, in Blue Mountain, Mississippi. She was the daughter of Silas Ray Whitten and Ruth Sawyer Burt (Whitten). Lucile was a graduate of Jackson, Mississippi's Belhaven University, a charter member of the Allison Art Colony, and an early member of the Art Study Club and the Mississippi Art Association. She attended the Dixie Art Colony during the 1940s.
Lucile Whitten Sharp, Artwork/Frame Labels, LWS-2021.AW.0001
The Art Study Club was organized in 1903, and in 1911 the club purchased their first piece of art for what is now the Mississippi Museum of Art's permanent collection. The Mississippi Art Association was formed in 1916 by the Art Study Club and opened its first gallery in 1927 in an old house donated to the city of Jackson for that purpose. In 1966 they hired their first paid director, and in 1978, the Mississippi Museum of Art opened its doors. The formation of the MMA is another example of how many of the Dixie Art Colony artists played a significant role in shaping the future of art in the South.
Lucile passed away on March 19, 1973, in Jackson, Mississippi, at the age of 89. She is best known for her landscape paintings painted during her travels across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Lucile Whitten Sharp, DAC Nobles Ferry Studio, LWS-2016.PH.0001
Sources: Dixie Art Colony Foundation Archives, "Clarion-Ledger," "Montgomery Advertiser," Mississippi Museum of Art, Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com.
Dixie Art Colony Foundation, Wetumpka, Alabama