Lloyd Branson Documentation Day & Brown Bag Lecture by Andrew Hurst on "Caring for Your Paintings and Artifacts" Rescheduled for Saturday, January 30

Do you own a work of art by Knoxville artist Lloyd Branson? If so, the East Tennessee Historical Society would like to know about it.

In the decades after the Civil War, Lloyd Branson rose from a precocious sketcher on his family’s East Tennessee farm to become an accomplished artist and Knoxville’s most popular portraitist. He won acclaim in his studies at the National Academy of Design in New York City, and upon his return to Knoxville established an emporium with photographer Frank B. McCrary. Branson was a leader on the local art scene and mentored such artists as Catherine Wiley and the African American painter Beauford Delaney.

Lloyd Branson completed hundreds of paintings, but unfortunately we have no detailed original records listing his artistic production. To document the breadth of Branson’s career, ETHS is conducting a survey of works associated with Knoxville’s “native genius.” The public is invited to bring Branson paintings, photographs, and other materials to the East Tennessee History Center to be photographed or scanned by ETHS staff and entered into a database of Branson’s known works. John Anderson, author of The Art of Lloyd Branson: A Family Connection, will be available to sign copies of his book. At noon, Andrew Hurst, a retired professional from the University of Tennessee’s McClung Museum, will conduct a program on caring for your paintings and other artifacts. For more information about the Branson Documentation, please call Michele MacDonald, curator of collections, at 865-215-8829.

The lecture is sponsored by the Harriet Z. Albers Memorial and is free and open to the public.  The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Please note that there will be a break in the documenting during the noon program.  Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824.