Penn State Altoona professor’s art featured in national online exhibit

ALTOONA, Pa. - Four paintings by Heidi Manfred, assistant teaching professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Altoona, are included in the new online exhibit "Patriot, Hero, Distracted Person: James Otis, Jr. and Mental Health in the Eighteenth Century."

The exhibition reframes the legacy of James Otis Jr., one of America's most overlooked founding figures. As a radical political leader in 1760s Boston, Otis established himself as a brilliant legal mind. After suffering a head wound, he was declared too mentally ill to take care of himself. His law practice closed, he lost his political influence, and died at 58, killed by a bolt of lightning.

Manfred selected four pieces from her 2023 Emotions Collection that she felt best represented James Otis, Jr. and his emotional journey: "Grateful," "Defeated," "Determined," and "Provoked."

Through historical storytelling and creative interpretation, the complete exhibition invites audiences to reconsider Otis' story, examine how we remember, or forget, figures whose lives were shaped by mental illness, and ask questions about our wellness in the here-and-now of 2025.

This collaborative project brings together Revolutionary Spaces, curated by Lucy Pollock, exhibit developer Kate LaPine, and the National Museum of Mental Health Project, a nonprofit "museum without walls" dedicated to transforming society's attitudes about and understanding of mental health through digital exhibitions and public programs.