Helen LaFrance: Enduring artist and West Kentucky memory keeper

By: Constance Alexander

Outlets: Kentucky Lantern

Published: February 16, 2026

Words: 569

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago

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MURRAY — When an E-F4 tornado ravaged downtown Mayfield in 2021, a painting by esteemed artist Helen LaFrance was pummeled at the local Ice House Gallery, which was levelled by the storm.

The same tornado splintered solid beams and once-sturdy walls of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, where a LaFrance mural of the Garden of Gethsemane barely survived the disaster.

Since then, the damaged works by LaFrance have been repaired thanks …

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