Fans of Southern Gothic fiction are in for a rare surprise. As part of the extended 100th birthday celebration of Milledgeville’s literary icon, Flannery O’Connor, an exhibition called “Hidden Treasures” has launched at the Andalusia Interpretive Center – a 2023 addition to the Andalusia farm property.
On view until O’Connor’s birthday in March 2026, the space also offers a bookstore, staff meeting areas, and an expansive front porch – with rocking chairs that encourage visitors to “stop and sit awhile,” a nod to O’Connor’s own contemplative creative process.
O’Connor, author of two novels, a self-proclaimed “Thomist” after Saint Thomas Aquinas, and posthumous winner of the National Book Award in 1972 for “The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor,” died from complications of lupus at only 39. Known for her devout Catholicism, searing portraits of Southern dynamics, and her exploration of violence as metaphor, O’Connor’s life and work have been explored in eponymous documentaries, John Huston’s film adaption of her novel “Wise Blood,” and most recently, “Wildcat,” a biographical drama directed by Ethan Hawke and starring Maya Hawke that also bears the same title as O’Connor’s short story.
“Hidden Treasures,” like a shock of plot twists from O’Connor’s writing, encompasses surprise ephemera from both O’Connor’s childhood (she was born in Savannah) and her time at Andalusia from 1951 until 1964, where she completed the majority of her writing. Viewers also get the experience of seeing personal and familial artifacts that offer a window into aspects of 1950’s life in Georgia. While there are anticipated items like photographs and peeks of receipts and mail from the Cline relatives (O’Connor’s mother’s side of the family), it is the personal nature of other displays that offer a true sense of intimate wonder into O’Connor’s life.
Her teddy bear – clearly well-loved and furless in places – stares up at the ceiling from supine repose. His plastic eyes are a bit scratched, his nose worn, and his case placement is eerie and unsettling – the antithesis of being positioned in an expected and playful manner. This display decision hits a very correct note, especially considering the nature of O’Connor’s fiction and her fascination with the macabre. By contrast, her white rosary – often catching beams of light that enter through the ceiling – is reverently housed along the side wall, an acknowledgment of her faith and contemplative practice, and to her “Prayer Journal,” edited and published in 2013 by the late W.A. Sessions, former Regents Professor of English Emeritus at Georgia State University.
Other childhood items include examples of O’Connor’s creativity – most notably a rather garish and intense devil puppet that she constructed. (A contrast to this is an early painting, rendered on wood, that reads “Lord Flannery O’Connor,” adorned with an ivory tassel, though this is not currently on view.)
There is also a rather sacred reveal of O’Connor’s white First Communion dress, which seems to be silk, lined with flowered collar lace and lace-trimmed short sleeves. Beside this is a smocked pink pajama set, an important example of feed sack clothing, and, according to the informational placard, one of the only examples in the collection.
Viewers will find plenty to take in from O’Connor’s adult life – a Revlon makeup kit with a brass tube of lipstick, for example, and the Cline family china. A gold brocade coat and two dresses are also on view, including a blue dress with an unfinished hemline which likely belonged to Flannery’s mother, Regina, who was an accomplished seamstress. Though not currently on display, part of the O’Connor-era garment collection includes a highly detailed ivory chemise with a peach-hued robe. According to Danielle Schulze, Interim Director of Historic Museums & Curator of Education and Public Engagement for Georgia College and State University, this garment also most likely belonged to Regina.
Another case holds O’Connor’s riding boots, gifted by her uncle, Dr. Bernard Cline, Regina’s brother. Slightly paint-speckled and well broken in, one buckle is undone, showing the length of the mahogany leather ankle strap.
Reminders of O’Connor’s health struggle with lupus are interwoven throughout, including her breakfast order from an undated stay at Piedmont Hospital, which included puffed wheat and Sanka.
Among the quotidian artifacts are examples of O’Connor’s later art, including a painting of ducks on canvas board surrounded by a mottled grey sky, and O’Connor’s studies of Andalusia, among others.
A broad range of O’Connor’s artwork – including wood-burned illustrations and linoleum-block prints, renderings of birds and buildings at Andalusia, as well oil-paintings and a self-portrait – was previously on view as part of “Flannery the Visual Artist” at O’Connor’s alma mater, Georgia College and State University. O’Connor’s collection totals over 70 pieces, many stored for decades by close family and friends. It is yet another way Flannery’s 100th birthday was honored in Milledgeville. Some of those pieces have made their way to “Hidden Treasures” as well.
Contextually, “Hidden Treasures” also reminds visitors of O’Connor’s connections in the larger literary sphere. A reproduction of Italian sculptor Antonio Canova’s piece – identified as “Cupid and Eros” – is one of the first artifacts viewers see on arrival. According to the placard, it was displayed in the O’Connor home and most likely purchased on Flannery’s trip to Italy in 1958, an excursion that culminated with Pope Pius XII’s blessing – not on her health, as has been assumed – but on her writing. This trip also saw O’Connor spending time with editor and translator Robert Fitzgerald, and Sally Fitzgerald, who played a major role in supporting O’Connor’s literary career. Both were introduced to O’Connor through Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Lowell, who O’Connor had met at Yaddo, an artist’s residency in New York.
Invitations to the history of the Andalusia land space are also present, along with additional information about the indigenous people of the region. There is also a clay shard on view – identified as pottery of the Muscogee people – that was discovered locally.
While O’Connor’s books, letters, and literary ephemera are unfortunately not part of the exhibition, to witness so many personal artifacts from her life and childhood make this a compelling and essential visit for any O’Connor or Southern Gothic fiction fan.
For more on Flannery O’Connor centennial events, including a music festival, “Wildcat” film viewing, and a Saturday birthday celebration at Andalusia, visit gcsu.edu/oconnor/flannery-at-100.
A DEEPER DIVE
Check out the More Human podcast on O’Connor’s relationship to creativity and Catholicism with the priest and author of “Understanding the Hillbilly Thomist,” Damian Ference.
You can listen to O’Connor read her classic “A Good Man is Hard to Find” from 1959 in the video below.