Mildred Huie Wilcox is a name synonymous with art in the Golden Isles. Though her aesthetics and career path developed in their own right, a life centered around art is hardly surprised for the daughter of celebrated local artist Mildred Nix Huie.
Mrs. Huie was a remarkable woman. She was an American impressionist artist, sculptor, avid historian, and writer. Born in Augusta, Mrs. Huie spent much of her childhood at her family’s home in Savannah, and was one of Juliet Gordon Low’s first Girl Guide Troops (now known as the Girl Scouts of United States of America). The Mildred Huie Mediterranean House Plantation Museum on St. Simons Island houses a permanent display of Huie’s works, including the parlor dolls for which she is so well known.
One day in 1965, Huie gathered three of her friends, Stella Morton, Selma Shelander, and Marja Albright, also artists, in the living room of her East Beach home to discuss the need for an outlet to sell their art. The result of that gathering was the formation of The Left Bank Art Gallery. Mildred initially ran the gallery, but soon discovered that managing the business left her no time to paint. Fortunately, Mildred’s daughter, Mildred Huie Wilcox, and her husband, Robert, were willing to step in and take the reins.
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Mildred Wilcox, Mildred Huie and Mrs. Huie's dolls
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Millie modeling in Rome 1950s
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Robert and Millie, 1970s
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Millie Wilcox portrait by Constantin Chatov
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Constantin Chatov with Millie & Robert Wilcox, 1973 article
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In the presence of a president
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EIL profile of Mrs. Wilcox, 2005
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The marvelous "Miz Millie"
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Millie, her brother, John Huie, and Valerie Hepburn unveil The Huie Nix Gallery at the College of Coastal Georgia
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Mildred’s daughter, Mildred Huie Wilcox, affectionately known to most as Millie, is no less remarkable than her mother. Born in Albany, Georgia, Millie attended college in Bristol, Virginia, then returned to Georgia to major in English Literature at the University of Georgia. After graduating from UGA, Millie moved to New York City in 1950 and began working in Estonian couturier Madame Eleanora Garnett’s Fashion House, where she selected fabrics for the designer’s creations, thus developing her eye for art and fashion and beginning a lifelong career in aesthetics. She then traveled to Rome and began modeling the fashions as well.
Millie returned to St. Simons Island in 1966. It was then that she met and later married her husband, Robert Wilcox, a hotelier who had been raised in France. His connections there were invaluable to establishing relationships with French artists. Millie and Robert would travel to France several times a year to meet with artists and select works from their ateliers. They began expanding The Left Bank Art Gallery from a showcase for local artists to a home for national and international artists, with an emphasis on French Impressionism. The roster of artists that they developed over the years created high quality collections of which even the leading metropolitan galleries would be envious.
Millie, always a woman of genteel Southern charm and elegance, has built a solid reputation as the owner of The Left Bank Art Gallery. She has established connections with phenomenally talented artists all over the world. From French artists like Flanet, Ardissone, and D’Antignac, to Russian master portraitists, the Chatovs, to highly regarded American artists like Tom Nielsen and Chuck Parsons, and local favorites like Glenda Cason, Jim Jones, Janet Powers, and David Whitty, the gallery’s longstanding relationship with both regional and world-class artists is a tribute to Millie’s professionalism and devotion to fine art.
In the wider Golden Isles community, Millie’s contributions are equally impressive, and they echo the strides made by her mother. She is a speaker on art and history, pens a column in Coastal Illustrated, sits on boards of community organizations, and has tirelessly run both The Left Bank Art Gallery and the Mildred Huie Mediterranean House Plantation Museum, which she opened following her mother’s death in 2000. She has strong relationship with Sea Island and has curated exhibits for them. Millie was chosen to serve as the Coordinator of Art for the G8 Summit and is no stranger to charming presidents. She has been honored by community organizations and recognized for her substantial contributions in the areas of art and local history. In 2011, the College of Coastal Georgia dedicated the Huie-Wilcox Gallery on campus in honor of these two amazing women. The plaque is inscribed: “The Two Mildreds – Mother & Daughter – Artists, Advocates, Teachers, Community Leaders & Citizens of the World.”
The month of November will mark the end of an era. Millie says that the October exhibit of her family’s private collection will be the final exhibit at The Left Bank Art Gallery. The gallery will be closed permanently as of November 1. Millie says, “While this is a bittersweet time, I’m excited to move forward and see what will happen at the next threshold I reach.” Just as Mildred Huie stepped away from running The Left Bank Art Gallery so she could focus on her passion for painting, Millie is excited that she can now devote her time to other avenues in the world of art, history, and culture, such as taking small groups of art collectors to France to meet artists in their ateliers, completing work on her mother’s plantation history series and other records of historical significance. Millie also shares that she hopes to bring more of the early descendents of island families to Mediterranean House for presentations so that more of the oral history of the area and its people can be recorded. While a chapter may be ending, the rest of Millie’s epic novel is just beginning, and that is a joyous occasion.
