The African American Museum in Dallas will open a new exhibition, "Sunday Call to Church: The Art of Clementine Hunter," on December 5, 2025. The show brings together 22 paintings collected by Bank of Texas chairman Norman Bagwell and four works from the museum's own holdings, featuring the self-taught Louisiana painter who began creating art at age 50. Hunter, born on a plantation in 1887, worked as a field laborer and house worker at Melrose Plantation, painting from memory scenes of worship, work, and community life in the rural South.
The exhibition matters because it highlights a self-taught artist whose work offers a rare, firsthand perspective on Black plantation life in the early 20th century, a subject often absent from mainstream art history. Associate curator Lakeem Wilson emphasizes the importance of preserving the wisdom of elder artists and presenting the everyday rhythms, resilience, and faith of Black Southern communities. The show runs through March 6, 2026, with free admission, making it accessible to a broad audience.