Celebrating a Life in Tennessee Art

Admiral David Farragut 1919, oil on canvas Loaned by the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Knox County Public Library David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870), born near Knoxville, was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Branson’s portrait was commissioned by the owners of Knoxville’s Farragut Hotel and hung in that establishment from its opening in 1919 until 1969, when the work was donated to the Knox County Public Library for display at the Farragut branch. In 1978, the painting was loaned for several weeks to the First Tennessee Bank and was exhibited in the financial institution’s lobby during the opening of the renovated hotel.

Ellen McClung 1920, oil on canvas Loaned by the Knoxville Museum of Art Ellen McClung (1893-1992), the great-great granddaughter of James White, Knoxville’s founder, was educated in the city’s private schools and in Philadelphia. This painting shows her in her 1914 debutante gown, with a panorama of the Tennessee River in the background. She married coal magnate Thomas H. Berry in 1928 and was known for her elegance, philanthropy, and interest in historic preservation.

Flag of Knoxville 1896, watercolor on paper Loaned by the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, bequest of Judge John Webb Green and Ellen McClung Green, 1957.3.161 The “Knoxville City Flag” was created as the result of a regional competition sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. After an impartial judging of the many designs submitted, Lloyd Branson’s design was chosen, with a cash award of $100. The winning design was dedicated at the city’s Fall Trade Carnival of 1896.

Gathering of Overmountain Men at Sycamore Shoals 1915, oil on canvas Loaned by the Tennessee State Museum, Nashville In 1780, at the height of the American Revolutionary War, frontier militia known as the Overmountain Men gathered from Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina at Sycamore Shoals, a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, Tennessee. The men marched across the mountains of North Carolina and won a striking victory over British loyalists at the Battle of King’s Mountain in rural York County, South Carolina. The painting took three years to complete, remained in production for some 14 years, and was memorialized on Branson’s tombstone.

Robert James McKinney 1887, oil on canvas Loaned by Thomas L. Howard and Heiskell M. Howard In this so-called “Little Lord Fauntleroy” portrait, the young Robert James McKinney (1882-1888) is depicted standing on an ornate Victorian staircase, dressed in a red sash and black shoes with bows and holding a riding crop. Tragically, the six year old died the next year following a two-month bout of tubercular meningitis. Originally buried in Knoxville’s Old Gray Cemetery, he was reinterred at Greenwood Cemetery when the family plot was moved there in the 1900s. His parents, Samuel and Annie Booth McKinney, commissioned a marble statue of him for his grave that was based on this painting.

Still Life with Peaches 1895, oil on canvas Loaned by the Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina The only known Branson still life, this work demonstrates his painterly skills with closely applied color giving a sense of texture and exuberance to fruit spilling from a rough-hewn basket. He, like other painters of his generation who had returned from study in Europe, had “a new respect … for paint itself and a sense of organic structure.”

The Nude 1911, oil on canvas Loaned by Private Collector

The Weeping Magdalene No date, oil on paper Loaned by the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, gift of John S. Van Gilder, 1956.1.33

Uncle Jerry No date, oil on board Loaned by Private Collector Jerry Williams, a slave most of his life, was born around 1800 on Joseph Williams’s North Carolina plantation. At age 12, he was sent to Knoxville to serve Colonel John Williams and accompanied him during the War of 1812. Jerry became a favorite household slave; during the Civil War, family correspondence reveals much affection and concern over the health of the aging “Uncle Jerry.” Following his emancipation, Jerry remained nearby, taking on field work to help feed his family. The Williams family commissioned this sentimental portrait of their former slave to be painted posthumously from a photograph.

United States Barracks at Knoxville 1901, oil on canvas Loaned by the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Knox County Public Library The United States Barracks, home to 300 U.S. troops during the territorial period, was built in the 1790s at what is now the corner of Gay and Main streets. The blockhouse was constructed with closely notched logs to protect against small arms fire and an overhanging second story to counter siege tactics. The area around the structure was cleared of trees, affording would-be attackers no cover from riflemen at the portholes. It was demolished after 1815. The artist used a detailed description in J.G.M. Ramsey’s Annals as a reference for this painting. It was one of a series of historical genre works that included Gathering of Overmountain Men at Sycamore Shoals. 

Women at Work 1891, oil on canvas Loaned by the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Knox County Public Library Lloyd Branson featured slices of rural life in East Tennessee in his art. Women at Work, exhibited at the National Academy of Design in New York City in 1891, was one of several paintings in which Branson portrayed commonplace activities associated with the region’s agriculture. In April 1890, when The Fruit Driers was displayed as part of another National Academy exhibition, the New York Times approvingly wrote, “Mr. Lloyd Branson takes hold of every-day life with courage.”