University of Mississippi Museum

The University of Mississippi Museum is a museum owned and operated by the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The museum's stated purpose and mission is to undertake the collection, preservation, research, exhibition, and interpretation of objects related to the community and university, and to serve both the popular and scholarly audience.

History

In 1883, Mary Skipwith married Henry T. Buie. Henry lived in Buffalo, Arkansas and wrote books about the diamond mines in Arkansas. Mary was an artist for Marshall Field in Chicago, Illinois and left part of her estate to the City of Oxford, which is now known as the Mary Buie Museum. Henry died in 1922 and Mary died in 1937. [ [http://chuggett.homestead.com/groupf.html Descendants of Neil Buie] ]

A small museum, the Mary Buie Museum, was opened in Oxford in 1939 by the Skipwith family, including Mary's sister Kate, with a collection of fine art, decorative art and historical memorabilia related to the town and the Skipwith family. Kate Skipwith frequently entertained visitors in her handsome Victorian architecture home, which was filled with antiques and memorabilia. Among her treasures were American Revolutionary War letters from George Washington, John Hancock, and John Adams. Once an Oxford landmark, the grand home stood on the present site of The University Museum.

With funding provided by the family and government programs such as the Work Projects Administration, the City of Oxford operated the museum from 1939 until 1974. During this time, the museum's collections expanded to include historic costumes, Civil war relics and dolls. In 1974, the City of Oxford deeded the museum to the University of Mississippi, which maintained it as a cultural center for the town and the University. In 1975, with the help of a legislative appropriation and funds from the Adair Skipwith Foundation, a large new wing was added and named the Kate Skipwith Teaching Museum. The University's collections - Millington and Barnard Collection of mid 19th century scientifc instruments, the David M. Robinson Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities, Southern Folk Art including Theora Hamblett, fine art, and technology - were combined with other Buie collections.

An adjoining historic home owned by the University, the Walton-Young Historic House also became part of the museum operation in 1995. The house has been restored to its 1880s appearance, complete with period furniture. It offers guided tours that feature the lifestyles of the Victorian era.

The Buie Museum, the Skipwith Museum, and the Walton-Young Historic House together are known as the "University Museums".

The Seymour Lawrence and Porter and Elizabeth Fortune galleries were added in 1998 to the museum building's exhibition area along with a new storage facility.

Today the museum's holdings number about 11,000 items.

Federal funds have been allocated to begin researching a new William Faulkner wing to be added to the University Museums. A biographical timeline exhibition will be developed to enhance the experience of visiting Rowan Oak, the home of the Nobel Prize-winning author, which lies just south of the museum complex and is also owned by the University.

Accreditation

The University of Mississippi Museum was accredited in 1982 by the American Association of Museums, and the accreditation was renewed in 1995.

Exhibitions

A sampling of past exhibitions include:

ee also

*University of Mississippi
*Mississippi
*Oxford, Mississippi

External links

[http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/u_museum/index.htm University of Mississippi Museum official web site]

References