Flannery O’Connor is the object of much fascination, literary and otherwise. Her stories alone would be enough to fixate on—they are dark wonders, grotesque, sardonic, and often transcendent, despite many arguments in favor of their unrelenting bleakness. But she was also a devout Catholic, which at first seems discordant but soon fits in with her gothic sense of humor. But she also, in her twenties, ordered a set of peafowl in the mail, and proceeded to raise some 100 of them before her death from lupus 54 years ago. And then there’s the fact that at five years old, she taught a chicken to walk backwards.

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What I’m saying is: you could easily become obsessed with Flannery O’Connor. You could easily decide to paint her portrait, or collage her face, or make a Flannery O’Connor doll from felt. I would understand and celebrate any of these actions. I would also collect them for others to enjoy. And so, behold: a woefully incomplete but still delightful collection of portraits of Flannery O’Connor, from professional editorial illustrations, to portraiture currently for sale, to simple fan art. Enjoy.

Flannery O’Connor by Mary Bergherr Flannery O’Connor portrait on the cover of Revelation and Convergence: Flannery O’Connor and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (artist unknown) Flannery O’Connor by Amanda Atkins Flannery O’Connor by Tullio Pericoli, 1991 Flannery O’Connor by Richard Merkin Flannery O’Connor by Natalie Nelson, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Katherine Sandoz, from the Non-Fiction Gallery show “Southern Discomfort” Flannery O’Connor by Maria Forde Flannery O’Connor by Karin Hagen Flannery O’Connor by Chris Cook Flannery O’Connor by Elizabeth McNair, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Nancy Douglas Flannery O’Connor by June Glasson for FSG Flannery O’Connor by Diana Shafer Flannery O’Connor by Sharon McGill Flannery O’Connor by Ashley Anderson, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Dan Murdoch, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Matt Rota Flannery O’Connor by Travis Ekmark, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Lil Copan Flannery O’Connor by Melinda Hagman Flannery O’Connor by Brooke Hatfield, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Kerry Stavely Flannery O’Connor by Abigail Halpin Flannery O’Connor by Debbie Ritter Flannery O’Connor by Christine Ernest, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Lauren Pope Flannery O’Connor by Bill Morris Flannery O’Connor by an unknown artist; photo by Billy Craven Flannery O’Connor by Rebecca Bowen, as published in the O’Connor portrait zine Scale Highly Eccentric Flannery O’Connor by Kevin Christy Finally: is self-fan-art a thing? I think so. Flannery O’Connor’s self-portrait, painted in 1953. And just for fun, here’s Flannery O’Connor sitting underneath her self-portrait, where it hung in her home. Photo by Joe McTyre via Michigan Quarterly Review

Emily Temple

Emily Temple

Emily Temple is the managing editor at Lit Hub. Her first novel, The Lightness, was published by William Morrow/HarperCollins in June 2020. You can buy it here.