ENROLLED
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 210
BY REPRESENTATIVE COX
A RESOLUTION
To commend Clementine Hunter posthumously upon her 2018 induction into the Louisiana
Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists.
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Folklife Center is an agency of Northwestern State
University of Louisiana and was established in 1976; and
WHEREAS, the mission of the Louisiana Folklife Center is to identify, document,
and present Louisiana's rich history of folklore and folklife; and
WHEREAS, the Folklife Center serves as an archival repository for many folklife
materials; and
WHEREAS, Clementine Hunter was christened in March 1887 on a plantation in
Marco, Louisiana; her family moved to Melrose Plantation around the turn of the twentieth
century to work as sharecroppers; Ms. Hunter died January 1, 1988, having lived her entire
life completely within the environs of Melrose Plantation on Cane River near Natchitoches;
and
WHEREAS, the art produced by Clementine Hunter was first documented in 1939;
she was a self-taught painter who was encouraged and inspired by Francois Mignon; from
paintings on pieces of paper, Clementine's works enlarged to the size of The African House
Murals, which dramatically portray the story of life at Melrose Plantation in the 1950s; and
WHEREAS, Clementine Hunter never learned to read or write, but her art has left
a legacy of the vagaries of Louisiana plantation life from the perspective of an insider; she
masterfully illustrated work in cotton fields and pecan orchards; Monday wash days with a
big open kettle of boiling water to clean the clothes; Saturday night honky-tonk experiences;
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and the spiritual power of religion, all told with colorful paints and bold brush strokes on
canvas; and
WHEREAS, the paintings of Clementine Hunter will forever document life on a
southern plantation and give future generations a look back into breadth of hard work,
happiness, and community that existed in days past; she merits a special measure of
posthumous commendation upon her 2018 induction into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall
of Master Folk Artists.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the life and work of Clementine Hunter,
renowned Louisiana painter, and does hereby acknowledge the revelatory impact her art has
made in depicting the early days of African Americans in the state.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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