Knoxville in Knox County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
C. Kermit "Buck" Ewing
(Bentleyville, Pennsylvania 1910-1976 Bali, Indonesia)
— Knoxville History Project —
"Buck" Ewing was renowned for his figurative and landscape paintings that explored abstract expressionism and pop art. His painting here, "Sports Final", depicts a newspaper seller on Kingston Pike in Knoxville in 1949. In addition to solo art shows, Ewing collaborated with others to form two- and three-artist shows, but it was the addition of Philip Nichols to UT's art faculty in the late 1950s that sparked the creation of the "Knoxville Seven" - a loose coalition of regional artists also including Carl Sublett, Robert Birdwell, Joanne Higgs Ross, Richard Clarke, and Walter "Holly" Stevens.
Heralded as a seminal event during the 1963 Dogwood Arts Festival at UT's McClung Museum, the Seven Knoxville Artists of America exhibition saw Ewing and Stevens famously sporting bowler hats and white tuxedos with "Knoxville 7" stenciled on their backs.
in 1963, Ewing also formed the Knoxville Watercolor Society to promote the medium as a "significant art form" and continued to expand UT's visual arts program. He remained head of department until he died of a heart attack while visiting Bali, Indonesia, in 1976. Five years after his death, UT finally realized the Art and Architecture Building, which Ewing had envisioned and advocated for many years.
The Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, located in that building, is named in his honor. More than fifty years after the original event, the Knoxville Museum of Art held a major exhibition on the Knoxville Seven in 2016.
Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee
Downtown Art Wraps are coordinated by the Knoxville History Project, an educational nonprofit with a mission to research and promote the history and culture of Knoxville. KHP's educational articles and publications feature colorful characters, bizarre tales, interesting buildings, curious traditions, as well as seriously influential local events. Learn more at knoxvillehistoryproject.org
Erected by Knoxville History Project.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Education. In addition, it is included in the Knoxville History Project - Downtown Art Wraps series list.
Location. 35° 57.706′ N, 83° 54.962′ W. Marker is in Knoxville, Tennessee, in Knox County. Marker is at the intersection of South Gay Street and Main Street Southwest, on the right when traveling north on South Gay Street. Marker is located beside the sidewalk, at the southeast corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 900 South Gay Street, Knoxville TN 37902, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Knoxville Girl (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of First Block House (within shouting distance of this marker); Sarah Hawkins (within shouting distance of this marker); Knox County Spanish American War Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Governor John Sevier (within shouting distance of this marker); Katherine Sherrill Sevier (within shouting distance of this marker); Captain Charles T. McMillan II (within shouting distance of this marker); Knoxville (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Knoxville.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Knoxville History Project
Also see . . . Knoxville History Project. Downtown Arts Wraps take plain traffic engineering boxes and turns them into stunning canvasses portraying the artwork of some of the important Knoxville or East Tennessee artists from the past. Art Wraps engage the public to discover the city’s rich artistic heritage. (Submitted on June 5, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 4, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 364 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 5, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4, 5. submitted on April 30, 2023, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.