APSU purchases adjacent, 10-acre Jenkins and Wynne property
January 27, 2016
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University, which turns 90 next year, recently experienced a late growth spurt. Earlier this week, the campus grew by about 10 acres when the school finally closed on property previously owned by the Jenkins and Wynne auto dealership.
The $8.8 million purchase marks one of the largest expansions in the University’s history, and it now connects the 182-acre College Street campus with downtown Clarksville.
Jenkins and Wynne auto dealership property on College Street purchased by Austin Peay State University.
APSU Folk Art Collection gets donation from Karen Parr-Moody
August 22, 2014
Clarksville, TN – While visiting Austin, Texas, in 2013, Karen Parr-Moody came across a painting by the renowned folk artist Jimmy Lee Sudduth. The dusty image was of a girl in a swimsuit, and it evoked strong childhood memories for Parr-Moody.
“I really identified with going to my grandfather’s fishing camp every weekend on the Tennessee River,” she said. “It’s rustic and beautiful down there. The ‘Bikini Girl’ just reminded me of growing up and being a little girl.”
Karen Parr-Moody and her daughter, Stella, donate Jimmy Lee Sudduth’s “Bikini Girl” to Austin Peay State University. (Taylor Slifko/APSU)
APSU to Expand footprint in Historic Downtown Clarksville with New Art Gallery and Museum
February 21, 2014
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University is moving forward with plans to have a stronger presence in downtown Clarksville with the recent $500,000 purchase of a building at 103 Strawberry Alley.
The 15,000-square-foot building, which previously housed the nightclubs Joe B’s and Bar 103, will likely include an art gallery and museum on the third floor, housing APSU’s impressive folk art collection. The pieces in that collection were donated to the University by Ned and Jacqueline Crouch and Dr. Joe Trahern.
A rendering of the renovated building provided by Gilbert McLaughlin Casella Architects.
Austin Peay State University to exhibit newly donated folk art collection
March 7, 2013
Clarksville, TN – In a small storage room in the basement of Austin Peay State University’s Harned Hall, Marilyn Monroe is making things a bit awkward for President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie.
First off, the president and first lady are dressed formally, while Marilyn has opted to wear a red polka dot bikini. Then there’s that big smile of hers, which seems to mock the uncomfortable expression on Jackie’s face.
Two folk art sculptures that are part of the Crouch Folk Art Collection. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU)
Ned and Jacqueline Crouch donate folk art collection to APSU
September 5, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The artist, a Civil War veteran and 19th century dentist, carved the peculiar little figurines out of wood. He placed the musicians with their instruments in the back row, and up front, connected to metal wires, stand the dancing couples. Other macabre figures, such as a thin man playing bones and a woman spanking a baby, populate the dioramic scene.
When a crank is turned, a series of pulleys cause the pieces to move and dance in an awkward, dreamlike manner.
“The Circus” is one of several folk art pieces recently donated to APSU by Ned and Jacqueline Crouch. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU Staff).
Generous donation gives APSU three famed William Edmondson Sculptures
January 13, 2011
Clarksville, TN – William Edmondson, a humble stone carver and the son of slaves, died quietly after years of declining health. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Nashville.
It was an ironic fate, given that Edmondson spent years carving elaborate headstones for cemeteries around middle Tennessee. The eccentric artist believed that God commanded him to sculpt the shapes out of limestone, and after a few years, he began adding statues of biblical characters, people and animals to his body of work. His sculptures caught the eyes of several prominent art critics and in 1937, Edmondson became the first African-American artist to have a solo show of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
William Edmondson Sculpture "The Critter".
