Dead White Men and 10 Brave Women

The Beulah Campbell Collection has a number of fine portraits of people who have distinguished themselves in a variety of fields. There are adventurers, inventors, politicians, writers, artists, and social activists.

The pictures date from the 1930s to the 1970s and are nearly all white males with the exception of Eleanor Roosevelt and a montage of significant white women. Clearly this reflects the manner in which history has been depicted until comparatively recently. A sketch of the magnificent opera singer Marion Anderson and an early photo of the writer Tom Feelings represent two African Americans who have contributed greatly to the arts.

It is interesting that these images are considerably larger than their printed version. This was to allow for greater detail that would be lost when the pictures were reduced in size. In these originals we are able to see the fine detail and characteristics of the individuals depicted.

The portrait to the left is that of Andrew Jackson by James Daugherty (1936).

The Beulah Campbell Collection is housed on the lower level of the Belk library. In the 1970s Beulah Campbell collected original children’s book illustrations. Her vision was to see it used for educational and exhibition purposes. The current exhibit is in Room 028.

Please contact Celia Whitlock at 828.719.5027 or Pat Farthing at 828.262.2778 if you would like to view the collection.