The Appleton Museum of Art, a campus of the College of Central Florida, is pleased to announce the exhibit “Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art,” celebrating the passion of a couple who spent more than 35 years as devoted connoisseurs, building a collection of vivid artworks that are both resonant and remarkably personal. “Memories & Inspiration” is on view at the Appleton from January 30 through March 28.
“Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art” presents 62 selected works from a body of art amassed over 35 years. Kerry, a retired mailman, and Betty, a former television news producer, gladly gave up many ordinary comforts in order to live with extraordinary paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures as their principal luxuries. Their collection includes works by Radcliffe Bailey, Romare Bearden, Beverly Buchanan, Elizabeth Catlett, Ernest T. Crichlow, Sam Gilliam, Loïs Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, Alma Thomas and Charles White, but Kerry and Betty do not search exclusively for well-known and/or documented artists. Rather, they focus on the more meaningful task of gathering and preserving a range of artistic approaches to the black image, in order to console the psyche and contribute to a more authentic articulation of the self.
The result is an eclectic gathering of pieces crossing different mediums, subjects and styles by a group of artists of the African Diaspora who–in terms of training, experience, and expression–are strikingly diverse but unified in their use of cultural and historical narratives. As their collection has grown so has the Davises’ storehouse of memories of discovering new works of art, building friendships with artists, and conversing with museum professionals and other collectors in their home. “Memories & Inspiration” brings together an awe-inspiring selection of works, but it is their personal resonance–their connection to the Davises’ hopes, passions, and everyday lives–that gives the collection its unique power.
An online talk with Kerry Davis and artist/curator Kevin Sipp will take place Sunday, February 28 at 2pm on Zoom. This free talk can be accessed by going to Zoom.us and using the following login information: Meeting ID: 935 9471 8618 | Passcode: 471041.
For more information, call (352) 291-4455 or visit appletonmuseum.org.
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Image Credit: Sedrick Huckaby, “She Wore Her Family’s Quilt,” 2015, Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in. Photograph by Gregory Staley.