Montgomery, AL (08/01/2024) – The Alabama Department of Archives & History (ADAH) will continue its 2024 Food for Thought lunchtime lecture series on Thursday, August 15, at 12:00pm CT. Bill Eiland will present Alabama, Mother Mine: Portraits from Early Alabama in the ADAH’s Joseph M. Farley Alabama Power Auditorium in Montgomery. Admission is FREE. The lecture will also be livestreamed on the ADAH’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, and a recording will be available after the program.

Eiland will present the history of Alabama's early portraiture, specifically of its white planter class.  He will focus on the early settlement of the Black Belt and the region’s economic and cultural contributions to the growth of the state. Eiland will also discuss the challenges of studying marginalized groups and investigate the various roles of women in a male dominated society.

A native of Sprott, Alabama, William Underwood Eiland has recently retired after thirty-three years of service to the University of Georgia as director of the Georgia Museum of Art. He has written, edited and contributed to over sixty publications. In 2013, Eiland received the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his contributions to the field on a national and international level from the American Alliance of Museums. Most recently in 2017, he received the Governor's Award for his service to Georgia's Arts and Humanities.  He is presently working on a history of the arts and artists of Alabama; a collection of the correspondence of Edith Wharton and Bernard Berenson; and his notes and observations on visits to the graves of distinguished American and European men and women.

For additional information, contact Alex Colvin at alex.colvin@archives.alabama.gov or (334) 353-4689. A complete schedule of our 2024 lunchtime lecture series is available at archives.alabama.gov. Food for Thought 2024 is sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Friends of the Alabama Archives.

The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state's government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. The Museum of Alabama is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. The EBSCO Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. To learn more, visit archives.alabama.gov or call (334) 242-4364.