Henderson, KY native, Ewing Galloway (1889-1953) was the chief supplier of photographs
for the U.S. publishing industry from 1925 to 1950. At one time he owned rights to
over 500,000 photographs which were used to illustrate newspaper and magazine articles,
textbooks, advertisements, and specialty printing. The images in this exhibit are
selected from the nearly 2,000 photographs he donated to WKU in the late-1930s.
An American Educator in Liberia: The Collection of Dr. Daniel Hays
Opening May 11, 2012
Dr. Hays, a native of Bowling Green and a WKU alumnus, worked to develop public schools
in the rural interior of Liberia during the 1950s and 60s as part of his job with
the USAID. During that time, Hays and his family accumulated a large collection of
memorabilia including traditional musical instruments, games, furnishings, sacred
objects, and tourist art. Hays's daughter, Coppelia Hays, generously donated the collection and now visitors can learn about this spirited
Kentuckian and the Liberian communities he lived with, worked with, and regarded as
friends and family.
This exhibit is a project of the 2012 Fall Semester Museums Studies Class, WKU Department
of Folk Studies & Anthropology with support from the Kentucky Museum.
Dorothy Grider: Selected Works Opening May 4, 2012
Born in Bowling Green in 1915, artist Dorothy Grider was best known as an illustrator
of children's books. The current exhibition at the Kentucky Museum includes artwork
recently donated by her Estate and work from the museum's collection. Paintings,
watercolors, drawings, and illustrations show the evolution from her days in art school
to a nationally-recognized illustrator of children's books. The exhibit will include
a partial recreation of her studio and a display of books and other printed materials
showing her published work.
Elizabeth Richardson Quilt Gallery Opened February 24, 2012
Assembled over two decades, the Elizabeth Richardson Collection is a case study of
American quilt collecting from the late 1930s through the late 1950s. The eventual
outgrowth of Richardson’s attempt to connect with the female members of several rural
Kentucky churches, it includes 13 quilts and 26 historic textile samples; correspondence
with several leading figures such as Florence Peto and William Rush Dunton, Jr., who
were active in the middle period of the 20th Century Quilt Revival; books about and
photographs of historic quilts; and five scrapbooks that chronicle her interest in
old quilts.
In addiition to featuring quilts and textiles from the Richardson Collection, the
opening of the Richardson Gallery will showcase 15 variations of Star pattern quilts
that were selected from other parts of the Kentucky Museum Quilt Collection.
The Kentucky Museum will close March 3-11 for Spring Break.
Bachelors Beware! It's Leap Year February 11 – June 2012
"Bachelors Beware! It's Leap Year" includes postcards, letters, photographs, comic
valentines, sheet music, scrapbooks and " a little black book" which give insights
to South Central Kentuckians' interpretation of leap year's permissions between 1850
and 1950.
Snell-Franklin Decorative Arts Gallery
The Kentucky Library & Museum has many unusual and interesting objects in its collections.
All of the objects in this exhibition are related to Kentucky in some way; they were
made here, retailed here, or they might be part of a collection put together by a
Kentuckian. This gallery displays furniture relation in time and style with silver,
glass, ceramics, paintings and anthropological items, which were used to decorate
homes at different periods in history.
A Star in Each Flag: Conflict in Kentucky
The Civil War, 1861-1865, split the nation apart along the lines of slavery. Kentucky,
a southern state with strong ties to north and south, was caught in the middle. This
wonderful new interactive exhibit will explore the Civil War in Kentucky.
Recommended by Duncan Hines
"Recommended by Duncan Hines" will include 11 sections featuring the life and work
of the Bowling Green native. An extensive collection of artifacts will be on hand
including the outstanding collection from the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors’
Bureau. The exhibit features these artifacts along with state-of the art media tools
so visitors will learn about Hines’ career as a writer on travel, dining and entertaining,
as well as his transition to a "name brand" icon and pioneer in the world of packaged
food.
This early nineteenth century log house is a classic example of traditional Kentucky
architecture. The double-pen, story and a half structure with its dog-trot floor plan
and poplar, oak, and walnut construction are typical of the folk architecture of the
region. The structure interprets folklife in rural, south central Kentucky in the
eighteen-thirties using reproduction household furnishings and equipment, tools, and
clothing accurate to the period.
L. Y. Lancaster Gun Collection
Thirteen guns in two cases tell the story of how a hobby can make a person an authority.
Dr. L. Y. Lancaster (1893-1980), best known as a professor of biological sciences
and a mentor of pre-med students at Western Kentucky University for 37 years, collected
and restored 19th flintlock and percussion lock long rifles. The earliest dated gun
in the case is a flintlock from the late 1820s. For many Kentuckians, this case provides
their first look at a double barrel shotgun.
Hascal Haile: Guitar-maker to the Stars
Monroe County, Kentucky native Hascal "Hack" Haile (1906-1986) began making guitars
professionally after retiring from furniture making in the late 1960s. A lifelong
musician, he made guitars for classical artists and country musicians alike. This
special exhibition case features two of Haile's guitars; an acoustic folk guitar (1983)
and a solid body amplified acoustic guitar (1982). Haile received national attention
when in 1980 the Smithsonian Institution accepted one of his guitars for its Hall
of Musical Instruments and President Jimmy Carter received him at the White House.
Taking the Mystery Out of Prehistory
Long before the first written history in Kentucky, people lived and hunted there.
This small exhibit identifies tools, cooking utensils, and ornaments made and used
by prehistoric Kentuckians. Ordinary and unusual objects of stone, bone, pottery,
and fiber are included and a special display of projectile points identifies spear
and arrow tips that span 10,000 years of Kentucky prehistory.
