Beauford Delaney was born in Knoxville, soon after the turn of the last century.
A Black modernist painter, he is remembered for his works during the Harlem Renaissance in New York City and after his move to Paris.
Delaney was a friend - and “spiritual father” - of writer James Baldwin, who was in his teens when they met.
An exhibition now at the Hunter Museum of American Art here in Chattanooga examines Delaney’s evolution as a painter, from portraits to abstract expressionism.
The exhibition - “Beauford Delaney: Metamorphosis Into Freedom” - also features paintings by his younger brother Joseph.
Stephen Wicks is the exhibition’s curator.
He is the Barbara A. and Bernard E. Bernstein Curator of the Knoxville Museum of Art - home to the largest and most comprehensive public collection of Beauford Delaney’s art.
On Thursday, Stephen will give a tour of the exhibition at the Hunter, starting at 6 PM.