ANTIQUE CAST IRON JOCKEY HITCHING POST

This is not exactly a "Vicksburg" treasure, though it now resides here - in my home. I purchased it several years ago from a local lady who came by it in a very interesting manner (which I cannot divulge at this time). Suffice to say its acquisition was completed during an all-night initiation wing-ding involving several wild sorority girls.

VICKSBURG ART & ARTISTS

Vicksburg has produced and is home to many fine artists of many different genre. The piece shown, "Montana Mare with Foxtail Hair," was produced by local artist Janet Akers. I purchased it in 2000 during a local showing in which it won "Best in Show." It's one of my favorite pieces. If you visit our town, be sure to go by "The Attic Gallery," which is located downtown on Washington Street. There you'll find the works of many local artists. Maybe you'll do as I did - fall in love with one of them.

EVA MAKK OIL ON CANVAS

Vicksburg's grand old homes produce some fine "pickings." This beautiful oil-on-canvas painting is the work of Eva Makk. It was brought to me by a local lady who was interested in selling it. Entitled "Southern Belle," it was at once one of my favorites - I fell in love with it. Now it occupies a special place in my apartment.

From the Makk Studios website (http://www.makkstudios.com/Eva-Makk.html):

Eva Makk - Biography

Eva Makk has been called "the world's foremost living impressionist painter". She is celebrated for graceful, light-infused compositions executed with shimmering strokes of color. She is also noted for her ability to reach the spiritual essence of her subject. Frances Maier of Southwest Art wrote of Eva Makk: "Her feelings for life are reflected in all her paintings; they express love, beauty, dignity and a gracious elegance. They are lyric poems realized visually, with a quality at once spiritual, ethereal, yet glowing with the warmth of life."

Eva Makk’s distinguished career spans more than half a century. Her work has been the focus of major public exhibitions, including U.S. Senate Rotunda (Washington, D.C.), Carnegie International Center (New York), St. Stephen Museum (Hungary) and numerous other galleries and museums in the United States, France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Monaco, Hungary, Brazil, Canada and Japan.