Clough and Hanson
Excerpt from Memphis Magazine
"Hanson was part of a coterie of college-educated women during the early twentieth century in the Mid-South that included educator Mary Grimes Hutchison (the founder of Hutchison School), Nan Halliburton (the mother of travel writer Richard Halliburton), art instructor Jessie Clough, and Floy's sister, musician Etta Hanson. Lovers of art and culture and travel, their knowledge of the world would have been decidedly broader than most of their era. Hanson met her mentor and lifelong collaborator, Jessie Clough, at the esteemed college preparatory for young ladies, The Higbee School, where Clough taught art. Hanson graduated as Higbee's valedictorian in 1897. She continued her education at Chicago Institute of Art and Columbia University Teachers College, where she was heavily influenced by Arthur Dow, a leading figure in the pre-World war I Arts and Crafts revival.
Ultimately, Floy and Clough assembled an 1,1 oo-piece collection they used to study and teach art and design that included Italian and French brocades from the eighteenth century, Japanese woodblock prints, lacquerwork, obi textiles, and other objects from foreign lands. In 1950, Floy established the Jessie L. Clough Art Memorial for Teaching at Rhodes College, creating a tru st in honor of her mentor. The collection is still in use today as a teaching tool for the arts and humanities." - Jane Schneider