CLAMART ‘61 Artwork © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
BEAUFORD DELANEY: DEGREES OF SEPARATION
JUNE 5 – AUGUST 8, 2026
Curated by Mike Berry and Derek Spratley
The gallery will be closed Friday, June 19, and Saturday, July 4.
Beauford Delaney’s luminous paintings and magnetic character bridged the gap between everyday individuals and global icons, joining them in relationships that stretched from Knoxville to Paris. Drawing on Derek Spratley’s thirty years of experience as administrator of the Delaney Estate, Beauford Delaney: Degrees of Separation, revisits the painter’s work and worlds through the lens of these “degrees of separation” to explore the deeply reciprocal influence the artist had on those he encountered throughout his travels across the domestic and international stage.
This exhibition features works by Beauford Delaney with additional works by friends and paintings and drawings from the Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection by his brother Joseph Delaney.
FIRST FRIDAYS
JUNE 5, JULY 3, + AUGUST 7 | 5-9PM
UT Downtown Gallery | 106 S. Gay Street
As part of Downtown Knoxville’s First Friday Art Walk, the UT Downtown Gallery is open until 9pm on the first Friday of each month. We hope you’ll join us for one or all of our First Friday events. UT Downtown Gallery events are free and open to the public.
Sketch of Alberto Giacometti, pastel on paper
Collection of the Beauford Delaney Estate, © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
GALLERY TALK
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 6:30PM
UT Downtown Gallery | 106 S. Gay Street
please join us for remarks by:
Derek Spratley, Esq | Administrator of the Beauford Delaney Estate
Dr. Mary Campbell | Associate Professor of Art History, University of Tennessee
Stephen Wicks | Barbara W. & Bernard E. Bernstein Curator, Knoxville Museum of Art
Mike Berry | Gallery Manager, UT Downtown Gallery
James Baldwin Istanbul, Turkey ca. 1965, ink on paper
Private Collection, © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
EKPHRASTIC POETRY PERFORMANCE
SATURDAY, JULY 25, 1:30-3PM
UT Downtown Gallery | 106 S. Gay Street
Curated by Dr. Natalie Graham
Inaugural Poet Laureate, Orange County, CA 2022-2024
Join us for an afternoon of poetry inspired by visual art. The performance will feature readings by award-winning local and international poets.
Sketch of Henry Miller, ink on paper
Private Collection © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator