Join Elizabeth Furr, daughter of Betty Bowles Garrou, in the Gallery as she shares about her mother’s work. Elizabeth Furr was guest curator for the current exhibition Betty Bowles Garrou: A Retrospective of Paintings on view in the Whitener & Windows Galleries.

Elizabeth will be at the Museum from 10 AM - 12:30 PM & 2 - 4 PM. Stop by and say hello!

Betty Garrou (1919-2018) grew up in Hickory, North Carolina and enjoyed drawing and painting from the age of 5 when she was first introduced to paints by her aunt. In 1935, while a student at Hickory High, she and her friend Josephine Moretz [Shipley Lauerman] pressured their principal W.D. Cottrell into offering art instruction at the school. In response, Cottrell created an art department for the school and hired Paul Whitener, HMA’s eventual founder and first director, to be its first teacher.

Garrou graduated from Lenoir Rhyne College in English. At the of age 57, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Appalachian State University. This exhibition includes a sampling of works of various media, created over her expansive art career. The artist’s connection to Paul Whitener will be highlighted in the gallery of his name. The Museum has two works by Garrou in our collection.