Lynchburg Art Club Hosts 90th Annual Show

Lynchburg Art Club and Gallery is hosting its 90th annual Georgia Morgan Civic Art Show   Feb. 4-27.

The show honors Georgia Morgan, who was a critical member of The Lynchburg Art Club and Gallery, which was established in 1895. She joined the club in the mid-1920s, eventually inviting the club into her studio in 1926, according to the Lynchburg Art Club’s website. Her legacy was imprinted into the club from then on.

A student of Randolph-Macon Women’s College, Morgan also taught at public schools. 

The manager of the Lynchburg Art Club and Gallery Jennifer Staton said that the club started doing civic art shows because of Morgan.

“Because of her, we started doing civic art shows with critiques so that artists weren’t just coming and painting together. They were really learning and growing as artists,” Staton said.

Georgia Morgan Civic Art Show is one of the oldest competitions along the East Coast, according to Staton. 

“The arts are for everybody, and … they should be accessible. It’s all part of our mission. We have classes, and we do the shows, and this one is important to us because it’s accessible,”  Staton said.

According to the Lynchburg Art Club’s website, those who live within 35 miles of Lynchburg and are at least 16 years old can participate by submitting their art. This year’s art show judge is Richard “Dick” Pumphrey, a professor of art, an author and a retired chairman of the art department at the University of Lynchburg. 

“We always try to have a high-quality judge with good critiquing available so that everybody can grow from the experience,” Staton said.

“The whole atmosphere of this club isn’t super competitive, so it’s not like everybody is like gung-ho out to win a prize at the show. They’re here to learn from the judges,” Staton said. “There’s different styles and different mediums, and that is just representative of what everybody in our community does,” she added.

Staton said the show welcomes a wide variety of creatives.

“There are 50 artists and 91 pieces in this particular show, and so you have a lot of variety in style,” she said.

It takes a lot time and effort to pull together the art show. Everybody who works at the Lynchburg Art Club and Gallery volunteers their time, except for Staton. She said two of the club’s members hang the art, but recently, the variety of pieces submitted by artists has presented a challenge.

“Especially this month, (it) is hard to make everybody’s stuff look right together, and … it’s a whole skill on its own to make it all look right,” Staton said.

According to Staton, the Georgia Morgan Civic Art Show gives local artists a chance to not only show off their skills but also to grow in their skills and creativity. 

“We try to be what members need, what artists need to thrive. We give them a place to sell, a place to (learn), a place to show and place to kind of hang out with other artists too,” Staton said.

Lynchburg Art Club and Gallery can be visited at 1011 Rivermont Ave., Lynchburg, Virginia. The club is open Thursdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free to the public.  

Woolwine is a feature reporter.