May 1, 2011 – April 30, 2012

Historic Arkansas Museum will mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War with tandem exhibits comparing the romanticized vision of the “old south” with the often harsh reality of life as it was for many in Arkansas, 1861 through 1865.

Reel to Real: Gone with the Wind and the Civil War in Arkansas will pair up rarely seen items from the film Gone with the Wind with actual objects and firsthand accounts of the Civil War in Arkansas.

In the Reel exhibit featuring the Shaw-Tumblin Gone with the Wind Collection, visitors will enter into the film world of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler via costumes, photos and movie outtakes. The exhibit will explore the influence of movies on the perspectives and attitudes of the public.

The Real portion of the exhibit, portrays the true nature of the conflict with Arkansas slave narratives, women’s diaries, letters home from soldiers as well as uniforms and weaponry, all from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibit will bring the realities of war to life, with the words, stories and songs of those who endured the ordeal of war in Arkansas.