Red poppies highlight of collector’s many pieces
The cozily eclectic interior of Brenda Alexander-Francois’ house is filled with items bearing or related to red poppies, roosters, and Buddha.
It’s the red poppies, however, that are Alexander-Francois’ primary collection. Much, if not most of her china, a good percentage of which is antique, is adorned with poppies.
“I began collecting poppies when I was about 23,” Alexander-Francois said, “and I just keep collecting them. They make me smile.”
Her first acquisition in her red poppy-themed collection and the one that started it all was a large Georgia O’Keeffe poster of a brilliantly red poppy.
“I started collecting because of that huge poster. And when I met my ex-mother-in-law, she told me that I needed a collection, that all ladies needed a collection. I thought that was silly, but I loved that picture so much that I just started collecting poppies,” she said.
“You know, the Victorians loved poppies and they had poppies in every little — they had a gadget for everything, and everything had poppies in it. A lot of my things came from the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s.”
Alexander-Francois’ favorite poppies are the big red ones with the black centers, she said. Her favorite pieces of china are adorned with these and she has several card table poppy paintings that she and her husband restored.
Like many who collect, Alexander-Francois’ collection has, in a sense, become part of her identity. Her former mother-in-law as well as friends and family have all contributed to her collection, bringing poppy-adorned objects.
“She (my mother-in-law) brought me poppies from all over the world,” Alexander-Francois said.
“My biggest poppy buyer now is my daughter-in-law, she brings something to me — it’s kind of a hobby for her, hunting for poppies for me,” she said.
Also quite noticeable around Alexander-Francois’ house are an abundance of roosters.
Rooster pictures, a rooster timer, and a rooster clock, among other things. The rooster collection started more or less around the same time as the poppy collection, she said.
“When I was growing up, we lived in the city. We lived in Little Rock. And all of our family members lived in the country and they were farm people. My mother didn’t allow us to go out in the yard, and I didn’t know why. And then one day I saw a rooster and a chicken fighting,” she said.
“I didn’t even know that a rooster was a male and a hen was a female … they weren’t fighting, they were mating. And that was just the most shocking thing to me, that they were fighting doing it. So, because of their tenacity, I just loved roosters.”
There is a personal, spiritual significance to all three of Alexander-Francois’ collections, perhaps most explicitly her collection of Buddha statuettes, ranging from a sizable lounging, laughing Budai in her front living room to a tiny, incredibly ornate piece no larger than a thumb.
“In my early 20s … there were some Buddhists that came to my door … they were Hare
Krishnas … they had this beautiful book … the Bhagavad Gita … but it was $30. Well, I mean I had two children, I couldn’t imagine in the ’70s spending $30 on a book. And I told them I just couldn’t afford it, but I kept it in my hands the whole time, looking at it,” she said.
“And when they left, they said ‘you take it.’ And, because of that, I became interested in Buddhism. Not necessarily as a religion, because I’m not a religious person. But just the whole concept — I like the basic Buddhist principle of being kind … I think that’s … a nice way to live, just to be kind.”
Alexander-Francois said she has largely ceased collecting, considering what will become of her collections as she ages.
“Somebody’s going to have to deal with all these — all my stuff. So, I don’t collect as much as I used to. In the past, if it had a poppy I’d buy it. If it was even a doubtful poppy, I’d buy it — if it was red. But I’m a little more discriminating now,” she said.
That’s not to say she won’t add a piece to any of her three collections should they be impressive enough.
“It has to be something unusual or just incredibly beautiful — totally irresistible, breathtaking,” Alexander-Francois said.