LEWISTON — Elaine Uzan Leary will speak about the national exhibit, “American Women Rebuilding France, 1917-1924,” a review of the life and legacy of Anne Morgan, from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the Franco-American Collection, Room 170, Lewiston-Auburn College.

Leary is the present manager of the national exhibit and former executive director of the American Friends of Blérancourt and the French Cultural Center in Boston.

Morgan, daughter of JP Morgan, was a modern woman – independent and active in solving social issues. Her major project was CARD (Comité pour les Régions Dévastées) in coming to the aid of the civilian population in Picardy, France, following World War I.

The photos in the exhibition at USM reflect the work of her 350 women volunteers.

The traveling exhibit features 29 photos and a silent film that documents the work undertaken by Morgan, daughter of famed financier Pierpoint Morgan, and the volunteers who helped the civilian population in Picardy, a region in northeastern France devastated by the war.

According to documents explaining the exhibit, Morgan and the volunteers helped feed the hungry, brought back livestock, planted crops, rebuilt homes and provided needed services for the children of the region.

The Franco-American Collection is located at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College, 51 Westminster St. It is one of the largest repositories in the northeast for the culture of French Canadian immigrants to the United States. The collection preserves the past and promotes the study of Franco-American culture and history.

FMI: usm.maine.edu/franco, 207-753-6545, doris.belislebonneau@maine.edu.

Anne Morgan