Re s i den t Spo t l i gh t
The Pinecone
|
June 2013 • 7 •
Peggy Latham is a sophisticated
beauty, surrounded by evidence of
her many-faceted talents as painter,
sculptor, and floral designer. She and
her twin sister, Dorothy, were born in
Nashville, TN on September 5, 1934 to
Peggy and Robert Day Smith. A third
daughter, Madeline, was born in 1936.
Robert Day Smith moved his
family to Princeton, N.J. when his
twin daughters were 2 years of age, so
that he could matriculate at Princeton
University. He graduated from the
University Summa Cum Laude with a
degree in Architecture. He also served
in World War II, focusing on building
the Burma Road in the China/Burma/
India area. In recognition of his
performance he was awarded a Silver
Star by Admiral Nimitz and awarded
2
Bronze Metals by the US Army.
Peggy and her sisters were educated
in private schools and colleges. She
and her twin, Dorothy, were each very
talented in the arts. In her early teens,
Peggy was confident that she had the
ability to express her ideas in painting
and sculpture. Her first effort was a
Peggy Latham
picture of a queen knighting one of
her subjects. Throughout their school
years, the twins successfully exhibited
and competed for first prize in many
exhibits of paintings and sculpture.
Peggy married Swayne Latham, Jr.
when she was 20 years old. She has
four daughters, and 9 grandchildren.
Peggy is pleased to have received
professional recognition by the premier
U.S. galleries and exhibits, such as
Honors from the Philadelphia Flower
Show, the largest flower show in
America, and other national shows
designated by the Garden Club of
America. But, she also is forthright in
how these honors bedeviled her twin.
As a result, tension and discord were
mixed with more positive feelings
between the twins. We discussed the
physical and psychological dimensions
of “twin-ship”. What does it mean to
a child to have someone who looks
exactly like oneself? Are twins fated to
go through life as a “pair” rather than as
individuals? How does one twin cope
when they compete against each other,
and the other twin is often the winner?
Dynamics of resentment, blows to one’s
sense of self, coupled with a lifelong
bond to one’s “other”, are not well
understood even in today’s scientific
research on twins.
Peggy and Dorothy moved into
KirbyPines in2005. The twinsdiscussed
their old conflicts and reconciled before
Dorothy’s passing in 2011. Peggy’s
work, produced in clay, stone, paint, and
dried floral arrangements, shows the
amazing sensitivity and talent she has
honed over a long and very successful
career. Her renown is not based on
being a twin, but an acclaimed artist.
-
Jacqueline Besteman,
Kirby Pines Resident
