Flannery O’Connor is one of the South’s preeminent authors. Praised for her Southern Gothic stories and novels, O’Connor is celebrated for writing provocative pieces that left a lasting mark on the literary world. While O’Connor passed in 1964 at the age of 39 as a result of complications from Lupus, her legacy lives on, particularly at her home, Andalusia Farm in Milledgeville, Georgia. 

The O’Connor family has a lengthy history in the Peach State. Notably, her great-grandfather founded Milledgeville’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church and her aunt, Louise Florencourt, was a member of the first female class admitted to Harvard Law School and graduated from Harvard Law in 1953. It’s no wonder O’Connor was gifted with tenacity and creativity. While the author is best known for her written work, she is also a celebrated artist. 

On July 1, 2024, Georgia College & State University officially took ownership of the Cline House, also known as the Greene Street House, in downtown Milledgeville, a significant acquisition for the Flannery O’Connor Foundation. This home, with its iconic columns, was bequeathed to the university by Louise Florencourt, who retained a life lease until her passing on July 31, 2023. The house, largely untouched since the 1960s, served as a storage repository for many O’Connor relatives. When archivists started digging into the home’s attic as well as a nearby storage unit, they uncovered almost 70 unknown pieces of artwork including oil paintings, wood-burned illustrations, and linoleum-block prints completed by O’Connor herself. 

In celebration of what would have been O’Connor’s 100th birthday, the curator for Andalusia: The Home of Flannery O’Connor, Cassie Munnell, hand-selected the “Hidden Treasures” exhibit at O’Connor’s alma mater, Georgia College & State University. It showcases the never-before-seen artwork as well as dozens of other new-to-display artifacts. Subjects include Catholic cathedrals, still lifes, farm scenes, and of course, various birds, which are closely associated with the author. 

Several cases showcase what the Foundation is dubbing the “childhood pieces.” Munnell guesstimates those were completed when O’Connor was between 13 to 16 years old. “My favorite is the portrait of a couple because I believe that it is a picture of her parents. We only have a handful of photos of them together, so it is interesting to see how she viewed the two of them,” she says.  

Beyond the artwork, there are other family heirlooms, letters, and clothing on display. Munnell says she wanted to exhibit the “coolest” items on hand. There’s O’Connor’s Teddy’s Bear (or what we know as a teddy bear today), a photo from her parents’ wedding, and a Dracula marionette. 

When developing the exhibit. Munnell says she kept oddities at the forefront of her mind, “When I walk into the room for a behind-the-scenes tour, what am I picking up to show people? That’s what I wanted to present here.” 

“Hidden Treasures” runs March 27 through the end of 2025 at the award-winning Andalusia Interpretive Center, adjacent to the Andalusia farmhouse.