Jesse E. Burkheart
U.S. Army, World War II and Shreveport Policeman
Jesse was born in Knobel, Arkansas in Clay County to Layman Burkheart, a sharecropper, and Millie Spry Burkheart. He was the second of nine children of the couple. "About every eighteen months have another kid," he says of the birth order of his siblings. By age six Jesse was helping his father in the fields. He plowed, chopped and picked cotton. "I had a tow sack and had a strap on it. I picked about ten, twelve pounds of cotton every week." His mother cooked on a wood stove, their meals often consisting of beans and cornbread, and often rabbits his father killed, and pork preserved in a smokehouse. They had neither electricity, nor running water. They took baths in a washtub set in the sun to warm the water, then carried inside. To read the entire biography please click the link above.
If you or someone you know would like to share stories with us, please call (318) 865-4201 ext. 122, or contact ohp@rwnaf.org.
As our regular patrons are aware, we've been doing some remodeling and reorganizing here at the Norton. Those of you who visit us regularly have noticed the striking changes in our central galleries and North Wing. Now it's the South Wing's turn. Unfortunately, this means we'll have to close down the wing for a time in order to debut our new look in early summer. The South Wing will be closed beginning Monday, February 3rd. When will it re-open? As soon as possible. We'll be sure to let you know, so be prepared to rejoin us for a bright new late summer opening!
Dali Prints From Alice's Adventure in Wonderland Exhibit
7 June 2014 - 31 August 2014
Originally published in 1865, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland already boasted editions with wonderful, iconographic illustrations by both John Tenniel and Arthur Rackham when a publisher had the brilliant idea of teaming one of the world’s most famous surrealist artists with one of literature’s most surrealistic novels. In 1969, the Maecenas Press (a Random House imprint) offered a large-scale edition of Alice illustrated by Salvador Dali (1904–1989).
Enlist! Art Goes to War (1914-1918) Exhibition
1 August 2014 - 11 November 2018
On 1 August 2014, the Norton opens a four-year exhibition, Art of the Great War. Throughout the exhibition you'll see original posters and learn about life in the city of Shreveport and in Caddo and Bossier Parishes during the conflict, including the men from here who gave their lives in the trenches of France.
A Century of Turmoil: Nineteenth-Century Art and Politics
2 August 2014 @ 2:00 pm
We often think of the 19th century as a placid, tradition-bound, and rather stodgy period of Victorian morals and mores. However, it was actually an era of violent revolution and epoch-shattering scientific and technological innovation.
The History and Mythology of the Greco-Roman World Tour
6 September 2014 @ 2:00 pm
After a short visit to our "Origins of Western Art" gallery to see the inspiration of genuine classical art, we'll explore Renaissance, 18th, 19th, and 20th century works inspired by the historical and mythological figures of the classical age, along with the stories surrounding these key figures of Western civilization.
Around the Gallery Newsletter:
From the Permanent Collection:
Benjamin Franklin
by Jean-Antoine Houdon
In 1784, the newly formed Congress commissioned a bust of George Washington from the French master, based on recommendations from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, both of whom had served as the U.S. Ambassador to France and were subsequently familiar with his work. Houdon insisted on working from the living model, so he traveled to America and stayed with Washington at his Mount Vernon home to create a mould of Washington's face and the measurements of his dimensions. During the same period, he produced this classic portrait bust of his friend, the great American statesman, scientist, inventor, and writer Benjamin Franklin, which has appeared for generations on American currency, stamps, national memorials of every description and as a symbol of thrift and economic wisdom for banks and other financial institutions. To read the whole article, please click on the link above.
Featured Publication:
In the Shadow of Danger: Photographs of the Vietnam War 1970-71
As a combat correspondent with the 10th Public Information Detachment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Robert Spangler of Mineral Wells, Texas, spent much of his year in Vietnam armed with his notebook, camera and M-16 rifle. He often boarded choppers for combat assaults, and "humped" his rucksack on long missions in the field, documenting the lives of infantrymen around him. He also photographed combat medics in dustoff choppers picking up wounded; artillerymen at their guns, soldiers manning far-flung fire bases, and life in Vietnamese villages. He was also the first photographer to document the destruction of Fire Support Base Mary Ann the day after Viet Cong sappers killed 30 and wounded 82 Americans in a night attack. The photographs and captions in this 209-page book portray the common man at war, trying to survive one year in a vicious, and divisive conflict. To purchase this book from Amazon, please click here. The book is also available for purchase from our store located in the foyer.
Featured This Month:
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), is a hardy perennial wildflower, though often planted in cultivated gardens, it adapts easily to a range of conditions, including periods of heat and drought. Coneflower, also known as snakeroot, blooms for about six weeks in midsummer with some repeat flowering in the fall. Coneflower scurvy flower grows in the USDA zone 3 through 8; plant in full sun and well-drained soil. Coneflower is a daisy-like flower with medium-green leaves. The narrow, droopy petals are shades of lavender-pink and purple with the center cones a coppery brown. The genus name for the purple coneflower is echinacea, which is said to come from the Greek word for "hedgehog" due to the shape of the flower. Native Americans reportedly used echinacea for treating things as varied as headaches, toothaches, snake bites, arthritis, mumps, tumors and malaria. Today, it is recommended as a way to boost the immune system, treat skin diseases and aid in healing respiratory illnesses like bronchitis, tuberculosis and whooping cough. Purple coneflower is a great border for a flowerbed or planted behind shorter pernnials or alongside other wildflowers, such as black-eyed Susan. Coneflower is a great addition to a butterfly garden, attracting species such as Painted Lady, Monarch and Fritillary. Honeybees are attracted to the sweet nectar, and small birds eat the dried seeds. Purple coneflower works well in cut flower bouquets, and the flowers are easily dried by hanging small bunches upside down.
