Evenings Upstairs: Mayfield as Common Ground, The Art of Ellis Wilson and Helen LaFrance

American artists Ellis Wilson and Helen LaFrance chose different artistic paths, but both began life in Graves County. Wilson became part of the Great Migration north where he studied art at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago and later played as an acclaimed artist during the Harlem Renaissance cultural era. Helen LaFrance Orr lived in Graves County all of her life; her memory paintings capture how rural Kentucky looked during her long life. 

Writer Jayne Moore Waldrop will discuss each artist, their work, and their common ground in and around Mayfield.

Jayne Moore Waldrop is a Paducah native, attorney, and writer. Her books include She Remembered It All: The Art of Memory Painter Helen LaFrance; A Journey in Color: The Art of Ellis Wilson, Drowned Town, Retracing My Steps, and Pandemic Lent: A Season in Poems. 

All programs are free & open to the public