Artist’s solo exhibit to include work featuring Macon civil rights activist Ruth Mosley

Artist Daniel Montoute will unveil new work at 6 p.m. Saturday at Macon’s Ruth Hartley Mosley Memorial Women’s Center on Spring Street — some of it featuring Mosley herself as a young girl.

Montoute’s first-ever solo exhibit was at the center four years ago, so his return is a homecoming after having work featured elsewhere, including the Macon Arts Alliance’s gallery on First Street.

Montoute said his connection with the Mosley Center and Mosley is one of inspiration and encouragement.

“Mrs. Mosley is a very inspiring figure to me personally and the center is part of her legacy,” he said. “She achieved so much in her life and was so successful in so many ways, how can you not be inspired by her, especially someone of my culture? When I dream big she’s an inspiration and when I go through difficulties and setbacks achieving my goals she’s still very much an inspiration and role model. It’s an honor to do these paintings and show my work here.”

Saturday’s event is a center fundraiser with Montoute showing eight or 10 works. All will be on sale with a significant portion going to the center.

One new piece is of Mosley at two different ages as a young girl — one with her seated on her father’s lap. Montoute said if the work is not sold during the month-long show it will remain at the center along with an adult portrait he’s done of Mosley.

Born in Savannah in 1886, Mosley was a woman of many accomplishments who, according to Gerri Marion-McCord, executive director at the center, lived a “remarkable and good life while meeting the challenges of Jim Crow segregation, the Depression, the fight for civil rights, sexism and other struggles.”

Her father, a successful bootmaker, encouraged Mosley to excel. After completing high school, she became a registered nurse and worked at the then-Georgia State Sanatorium in Milledgeville. At 24, in 1910, she became head nurse of the Colored Females Department and first black woman to lead a unit. Marriage brought Mosley to Macon where she became, according to Marion-McCord, the first black woman in the U.S. to be licensed as an embalmer. She worked at a funeral home bought by her husband and pursued other professional and entrepreneurial endeavors, such as real estate, throughout her life.

Her civil, social and philanthropic accomplishments also grew, as did her reputation as a world traveler. At her death in 1975, Mosley left two significant trust funds: one to help nursing and health-care students and the other to maintain her 626 Spring St. home as a women’s center.

Marion-McCord said the center cooperates with community organizations to enhance an individual’s life skills and empower the family unit. She said Mosley’s Macon home is much as it was during her life and available for tours and for “meeting, greeting or dining in class.” Regular hours are Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Clarence Thomas Jr. of Visionary Communications, organizers of Saturday’s event, said beside Montoute’s work, the evening will feature light refreshments and entertainment by vocalist Makeda Nichelle.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.

If you go

What: An Evening of Art – Daniel Montoute

Where: Ruth Hartley Mosley Memorial Women’s Center, 626 Spring St.

When: 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29

Information: (478) 742-6409, www.ruthhartleymosleycenter.com

Cost: $5

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Out and About

Here’s a sampling of other events coming in the next few days. For more, check www.macon365.com.

▪ “Dreamgirls” – 7 p.m. Feb. 28, film at the Grand Opera House, 651 Mulberry St., (478) 301-5470, www.thegrandmacon.com. $5

▪ “The Last Man Standing in San Francisco” – 7 p.m. Feb. 28, Black History Month Film Series at the Douglass Theatre, 355 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., (478) 742-2000, www.douglasstheatre.org. $5 snack pack

▪ Wagon House Opry: The Last Show – Feb. 29 6 p.m. Randy Greenway & Shadow Riders at the Wagon House Opry, 699 Altman Rd., Gray, Ga., www.wagonhouseopry.yolasite.com. (This will be the last show – the opry will be closing.) Donation

▪ Hughes Taylor Band – Feb. 29 9:30 p.m., live music at Wild Wing Café, 714 Lake Joy Rd., Warner Robins, (478)313-3453, www.hughestaylormusic.com.

▪ Troll Days: Mead Tasting & Live Chainsaw Carving – Feb. 29 2 p.m. & March 3 p.m., at the Society Garden, 2389 Ingleside Ave., www.facebook.com/thesocietygarden. Mead tasting, three pours $15

This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.