Virginia Wright-Frierson Collection

Collection

Identifier: SC-MS-144

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The bulk of this collection follows the birth of an idea for books on flora and fauna, the living desert, rainforest, and waters around an island, from first thoughts and art doodles, to finished product. Most of these notes focus on A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook, which can be found in its complete form in the library's general collection. The remainder of the collection includes newspaper clippings, correspondence with publishers, and biographical information about Wright-Frierson.

Dates

Creation: 1984-2015

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Biographical Note

As a multi-talented artist, illustrator, writer and teacher Virginia Wright-Frierson is prolific in her varied projects. She received her BFA in painting from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 1971. She also studied in Cortona, Italy with the Art Student’s League in New York. She lived in Arizona for many years and worked at the Tucson Museum of Art School and the University of Arizona.

Her work has been featured around the world in over thirty exhibitions. Her 1977 move to Wilmington presented inspirations such as the 2004 tribute to Minnie Evans, artistic gatekeeper of Airlie Gardens for over 20 years. She was also commissioned in 2000 to paint a large mural in Littleton, Colorado at Columbine High School following the tragic shooting. She hoped her work would help the healing process, saying, “I want them to see forever and forget the terrible tragedy that happened here two months ago.”

Virginia Wright-Frierson’s medium is primarily watercolors as seen in the Island Passage children's book, which is an account of a day trip she took to Bald Head Island with her daughter.