As for the artistic aspects of the work, Munnell said that viewers can expect “an almost impressionistic quality,” with similarities to her writing style, including “exaggerated movement, facial expressions, caricatures, and settings.” For example, Munnell noted a self-portrait that seems to incorporate religious imagery. Depicted from the shoulders up, O’Connor is topped by a halo of yellow curls in a pixie cut.
Also notable are a pair of portraits, which Munnell said are the most detailed and photorealistic of O’Connor’s work, especially compared to the more outlandish colors and dramatic features in her self-portraits. Both depict Black women, one approximately in her fifties and the other a young teen, who Munnell believes might have been workers on the farm.
“These are really interesting to me,” Munnell said, “because the relationship between Flannery O’Connor and race and the relationship between her and the workers on the farm have always been up in the air.” She added that while O’Connor’s writing illustrates the racism behind the genteel façade of Southern life, the art raises further questions and encourages deeper discussion.
Some of those discussions may happen in that childhood home. Georgia College & State University is getting to work on renovating and restoring the West Greene Street house. Some rooms may be redecorated so visitors can see what the home looked like when O’Connor lived there. There are also plans to have event space for talks, readings, and other gatherings.
Respess hopes that the current exhibition and future iterations of West Greene Street will give scholars and fans alike a broader, more complex picture of O’Connor’s legacy. “So many people study Flannery’s literary body; now we have her visual art that can add to our understanding of her as an artist completely,” she said.
