In a modest courthouse square in Yanceyville, North Carolina, a young girl once strapped on a toy gun and holster, accompanying her sheriff father on moonshine raids through the rural backwoods of Caswell County. That fearless child would grow up to become Maud Gatewood, one of the South’s most acclaimed artists and a woman who never stopped pushing boundaries.

This October, the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History will transform into a celebration of Gatewood’s extraordinary life with “Maud Gatewood Takeover,” the most comprehensive exhibition ever assembled of her work. Opening October 3rd and running through December 27th, the exhibit promises to reveal not just an artist’s evolution, but the story of a woman who refused to be confined by expectations.

“We want the exhibit to clearly show how Maud was a groundbreaker, always experimenting, daring, and pushing boundaries,” explains Sonja Ingram, Executive Director of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. The exhibition will span multiple galleries throughout the historic Sutherlin Mansion, featuring over 200 works that trace Gatewood’s artistic journey from her early experimental pieces to her mature masterworks.

From Sheriff’s Daughter to Artistic Pioneer

Maud Gatewood’s story reads like Southern fiction, rich in character and contradiction. Born in 1934, she was the daughter of John Yancey Gatewood, who served as Caswell County Sheriff on three occasions. Those childhood adventures trailing her father instilled a fearlessness that would define her entire life.

Academically gifted, Gatewood skipped two grades and enrolled at what is now UNC Greensboro, later earning her master’s degree from Ohio State University in 1955. But it was her 1963 Fulbright fellowship to study with renowned expressionist Oskar Kokoschka in Austria that truly shaped her artistic vision.

“She never focused on one style, preferring instead to experiment with materials, media, and subjects,” Ingram notes. This restless creativity led Gatewood to explore landscapes, figures, architecture, and abstract compositions with equal passion. She challenged not just artistic conventions, but social ones too, including her experiences with racial prejudice.

A Life of Service and Art

What makes Gatewood’s story particularly compelling is how she balanced her artistic ambitions with deep community engagement. After coordinating the art program at UNC Charlotte, she returned home to Caswell County in 1975, joining the faculty at Averett College in Danville, where she taught until retirement in 1997.

But teaching wasn’t enough for this dynamo. Gatewood became the first woman elected to the Caswell County Board of Commissioners, championing human services, economic development, and responsible land use. She served on the North Carolina Arts Council and many other civic organizations, proving that artistic vision and public service could powerfully intersect.

An Exhibition 70 Years in the Making

The upcoming exhibition represents years of careful curation and community partnership. Over 70 works are being loaned from major institutions and Gatewood’s family and friends, many never displayed publicly. The museum is collaborating with institutions including the North Carolina Museum of Art, UNC Greensboro, UNC Charlotte, and the Thomas Day House Museum.

“Partnerships are very important to DMFAH,” Ingram explains. “They help increase our visibility and the potential for new innovative collaborations.” The museum is also working with the Town of Yanceyville, the Caswell Historical Association, and Caswell Arts to create a comprehensive celebration of Gatewood’s legacy.

More Than Just Paintings

The exhibition extends beyond the gallery walls. Every Saturday from October through December, the museum will screen “Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas,” a documentary by The Empowerment Project. Guest speakers will present talks exploring Gatewood’s life, artistic process, and lasting influence throughout November and December.

The timing feels poignant. Gatewood, who died in 2004, left behind a legacy that extends far beyond her paintings. Her work is held in major collections, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Nasher Art Museum at Duke University.

A Legacy That Lives On

The “Maud Gatewood Takeover” opens with a members-only reception on Friday, October 3rd, at 6 PM, followed by the public opening on Saturday, October 4th. The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, at 975 Main Street in Danville, Virginia, is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM, and Sunday from noon to 4 PM.

Visitors will meet a woman who wore a toy gun at her hip as a child and grew up to challenge every boundary she encountered—artistic, social, and political.

As Ingram puts it, the exhibition will show both Gatewood’s talent and “her multifaceted character and life.” For a woman who never settled for just one artistic style, it seems fitting that her legacy refuses simple categorization too.