Mildred Hart Bailey was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana on March 29, 1926. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from NorthwesternState University. Bailey received a doctoral degree from the University of Mississippi, and also completed post-doctoral studies at Syracuse University. She came back to Northwestern in 1963 to assume a career as teacher, department chair and Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. Bailey was very involved in historic preservation, and helped found The Natchitoches Historic Foundation, Incorporated where she served as a member and board member. She also purchased and restored the historic Chaplin House in Natchitoches. Bailey was also very interested in folk artist Clementine Hunter and her work. Over a period of time Bailey befriended Hunter and supported her work by purchasing paintings. She was also responsible for the production of numerous oral histories of Hunter from 1972 through 1989. Bailey died on May 16, 1995 in a Shreveport hospital as a result of cancer.
From the description of Mildred Hart Bailey Collection 1899-1989. (Northwestern State University of Louisiana). WorldCat record id: 53997272
