Don Russell Clayton, an alumnus of Kennesaw State University, selected the KSU Art Museum and Galleries to house his beloved collection of works by Athos Menaboni, one of Georgia’s most prolific artists and well-known to Atlantans for his detailed and naturalistic paintings of American birds and botanicals.

Clayton wrote, “The lives of Sara and Athos Menaboni have had a lasting impact on my own. Since that first meeting, I have never looked at a flower, admired a bird, or watched the sun rise or set through the same eyes. Their love and enjoyment of life and nature has inspired the same in me. They were lifelong learners and always shared their knowledge and varied interests with their many devoted friends; those who knew Sara and Athos will always remember them with admiration and deep affection.”  

_{Center: Athos Menaboni, Wood Duck (detail), c. 1944. Oil on illustration board; 21 × 16 1/2 in. (53.3 × 41.9 cm). Gift of D. Russell Clayton, 2007.1.3.}

_{Top image: Athos Menaboni, Morpho (detail), c. 1965. Oil on gessoed paper; 19 × 14 1/2 in. (48.3 × 36.8 cm). Gift of D. Russell Clayton, 2008.3.3.}