HLS 18RS-4018 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 210
BY REPRESENTATIVE COX
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Clementine Hunter posthumously upon her 2018
induction into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend Clementine Hunter posthumously upon her 2018 induction into the Louisiana
3 Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists.
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Folklife Center is an agency of Northwestern State
5University of Louisiana and was established in 1976; and
6 WHEREAS, the mission of the Louisiana Folklife Center is to identify, document,
7and present Louisiana's rich history of folklore and folklife; and
8 WHEREAS, the Folklife Center serves as an archival repository for many folklife
9materials; and
10 WHEREAS, Clementine Hunter was christened in March 1887 on a plantation in
11Marco, Louisiana; her family moved to Melrose Plantation around the turn of the twentieth
12century to work as sharecroppers; Ms. Hunter died January 1, 1988, having lived her entire
13life completely within the environs of Melrose Plantation on Cane River near Natchitoches;
14and
15 WHEREAS, the art produced by Clementine Hunter was first documented in 1939;
16she was a self-taught painter who was encouraged and inspired by Francois Mignon; from
17paintings on pieces of paper, Clementine's works enlarged to the size of The African House
18Murals, which dramatically portray the story of life at Melrose Plantation in the 1950s; and
19 WHEREAS, Clementine Hunter never learned to read or write, but her art has left
20a legacy of the vagaries of Louisiana plantation life from the perspective of an insider; she
21masterfully illustrated work in cotton fields and pecan orchards; Monday wash days with a
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HR NO. 210
1big open kettle of boiling water to clean the clothes; Saturday night honky-tonk experiences;
2and the spiritual power of religion, all told with colorful paints and bold brush strokes on
3canvas; and
4 WHEREAS, the paintings of Clementine Hunter will forever document life on a
5southern plantation and give future generations a look back into breadth of hard work,
6happiness, and community that existed in days past; she merits a special measure of
7posthumous commendation upon her 2018 induction into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall
8of Master Folk Artists.
9 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
10Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the life and work of Clementine Hunter,
11renowned Louisiana painter, and does hereby acknowledge the revelatory impact her art has
12made in depicting the early days of African Americans in the state.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 210 Original 2018 Regular Session Cox
Commends Clementine Hunter posthumously upon her 2018 induction into the La. Folklife
Center Hall of Master Folk Artists.
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