Theora Hamblett (1895-1977) was inspired to paint by her dreams. She also painted cherished memories of her own and of people close to her—the old O'Tuckolofa School, children's games, "trees along the highways," making lye soap and sorghum, and carrying cotton to the gin.

Hamblett was born on a 200-acre farm near Paris, Mississippi, that had been owned by her father since before the American Civil War, and she understood farm chores and responsibilities from an early age. She graduated from Lafayette County Agricultural High School, near Oxford, Mississippi, and attended Mississippi Normal College before teaching primary grades in small rural schools on and off for fifteen years. Teaching was not satisfying to her, thoug...