“Beautification: The Environmental Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson” will open March 15 at the Upcountry History Museum in downtown Greenville.
Curated, produced by and initially displayed at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, the exhibition consists of 50 to 60 items to help visitors explore the life of Johnson, wife of the 36th president of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson.
“The exhibit has items from Mrs. Johnson’s life, starting with her childhood years, all the way through the end of her public career,” said Lara Hall, museum curator with the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. “Mrs. Johnson is a surprise when you dig past the surface. She was probably more of a modern woman than she was given credit for and this exhibit dives into what help shape her.”
Lady Bird Johnson designer dress. Photo provided by Upcountry History MuseumVisitors will see photos and letters connected to various periods of Johnson’s life, some dresses she wore during her public life, a Dictaphone she used to record her daily diaries and the George Foster Peabody Award she received for the television program “A Visit to Washington with Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson on Behalf of a More Beautiful America.”
“When you think about what her legacy is and how’s she’s remembered, she’s the woman who tried to make the highways beautiful and plant wildflowers,” Hall said. “When look past that initial façade, you find that she was actually really close to President Johnson. She was very active throughout his political career, and it was more than trying to make things pretty.”
“Beautification: The Environmental Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson” will be on display through Sept. 7.
For more information, call 864-467-3100 or visit upcountryhistory.org.
