1889 - 1984

A Marengo County native, sculptor Geneva Mercer is considered among Alabama’s most acclaimed artists. Her marble and bronze sculptures have been exhibited across the globe. The Smithsonian recognized her importance by making Mercer the first Alabama artist to have their full body of work documented by the Institution. Mercer attended the State Normal College in Livingston (now the University of West Alabama). While there, the school’s president, Julia Tutwiler, recognized the young artist’s considerable talent and connected her to the famed sculptor Giuseppe Moretti. Mercer worked as Moretti’s apprentice for more than three decades and became a renowned sculptor in her own right. Mercer completed several memorial pieces of Julia Tutwiler after her death, including a marble monument which now hangs in the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Today, much of Mercer’s work is housed in a hometown museum bearing her name. 

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