International opera star Marjorie Lawrence spent summers at her Hot Springs home conducting opera workshops and sharing her love of music with the community.
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, AKAS II has commissioned a painting of Lawrence that will be donated to Arkansas School of Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.
AKAS II founder Barbara Sloan said she hopes the Marjorie Lawrence Project will draw attention to the arts program at ASMSA and the need for a performing arts center in the community.
“At ASMSA, students learn first-hand about the art in science and the science in art.The chairman of the science department demonstrates the physics of acoustics in folk music while a member of the adjunct art faculty teaches the chemistry of ceramics at the local community college,” said Sloan. “Through ASMSA's integration of the arts and the sciences, its students develop meta-skills which will benefit not only themselves but everything around them.”
Local artist Daisy McDonald will create a portrait of Lawrence to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the opera star’s historic horse ride on Jan. 12, 1936, during a performance of “Gotterdammerung” at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
ASMSA director Janet Hugo and McDonald met Thursday (Jan. 6) to discuss ideas for the painting. Both agree the painting should show Lawrence’s strength and determination as she rode the horse across the stage.
Lawrence, an Australian native, came to Hot Springs after she was stricken with polio in 1941. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas website, Lawrence was first treated at St. Joseph’s Hospital and went daily to the Maurice Bathhouse. Lawrence and her husband bought 500 acres outside Hot Springs and that remained her home for most of her life.
Despite being paralyzed, Lawrence continued to perform until 1952. During World War II she traveled around the Pacific and Europe performing for GI’s and giving special concerts for the critically injured.
In 1949 her autobiography “Interrupted Melody: The Story of My Life” became a bestseller and was the basis for an Oscar-winning movie in 1955. The southern premier of the movie was at the Malco Theatre in Hot Springs.
Lawrence taught at Tulane and Southern Illinois universities before joining the faculty of Garland County Community College (now National Park Community College) in 1974. She also taught at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and sang with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
During the summers she held opera workshops at her home in Hot Springs. At the conclusion of the workshops, the students presented a public concert at the Arlington Hotel.
Lawrence died of heart failure in 1979 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Hot Springs.
The Marjorie Lawrence painting will hang in the ASMSA administration building and later will be moved to the new Student Life Center when it is complete.
“ASMSA is supportive of the Hot Springs art community and appreciates the opportunities students have to work with and learn from local artists,” said Hugo.
The state legislature added the arts to the school’s mission in 2004 and the school continues to develop its arts curriculum. However, classroom space for art classes is limited and the school does not have a performance or assembly hall. The long-range plan for the campus includes construction of a performing arts center that would also be available for community use.
Contributions to the Marjorie Lawrence Project can be made at any Summit Bank branch. For more information, contact AKAS II, P.O. Box 123, Hot Springs AR 71913-0123 or at akasii@aol.com