Myth and Legend

Zelda Fitzgerald's Paper Dolls

February 28 though June 1, 2025

On view in the Weil Graphic Arts Study Center

Overview

Montgomery native Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald was the wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald as well as a creative artist in her own right. Collections of paper dolls are a part of her artistic legacy, the earliest made for her daughter Scottie in the 1920s. Much later, in the early 1940s, she created a series of characters from fairy tales and a group drawn from the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. She approached a publisher in New York, saying she intended these for a publication to be used and enjoyed by children.

Above: Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (American, 1900–1948), Morgan Le Fay (Paper Doll), about 1941, watercolor and graphite on academy board, Gift of Mrs. Frances Fitzgerald Smith, 1986.4.6.2; Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (American, 1900–1948), Gewaine (Paper Doll), about 1941, watercolor and graphite on academy board, Gift of Mrs. Frances Fitzgerald Smith, 1986.4.3.2

Organizer

Organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama.

Exhibition Sponsors

Annual support for exhibitions is made possible by the following sponsors and grantors: 

Lead Sponsors and Grantors: Alabama State Council on the Arts, Art Bridges Foundation, Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC, Mr. and Mrs. Barrie H. Harmon, Ill, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC, Lamar Advertising of Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. James K. Lowder, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and Mrs. Helen Till

Sponsors: Mr. Owen Aronov, Hyundai Glovis, Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Runkle, Sabel Steel, The S. Adam Schloss Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Weil, III, Laurie J. Weil, D.V.M. and Dr. Tommy Wool, and Ms. Helen Crump Wells

Co-sponsors: Mr. and Mrs. Sam Adams, Alabama Trucking Association, AmeriFirst Bank, Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Campbell II, CAPTRUST, Dr. Robert Combs, Crum Family Charitable Foundation, Mrs. Camille Elebash-Hill, Harmon Dennis Bradshaw, Inc., Mrs. Ann Hubbert, Mr. and Mrs. John E. Ives, Mr. and Mrs. L. Daniel Morris, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Mussafer, Dr. Alfred J. Newman, Jr., River Bank & Trust, Russell Construction of Alabama, Inc., Ms. Micki Beth Stiller, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Taylor, and Warren Averett, LLC.

Special thanks to the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

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