ARTISTS
Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art
From September 27 to December 20, 2025, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art will present the traveling exhibition Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art, in the Maribeth Collins Lobby and Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery. Organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC, the exhibition celebrates the passion and commitment of an ordinary couple who spent more than thirty-five years as devoted collectors and connoisseurs, building a collection of vivid artworks that are both resonant and remarkably personal.
The exhibition features sixty-two selected works from the collection of Kerry and C. Betty Davis of Atlanta, Georgia. Kerry, a retired postal worker, and Betty, a former television news producer, gladly gave up many ordinary comforts in order to live with extraordinary paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings as their principal luxuries. Their collection includes work by Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Sam Gilliam, Jacob Lawrence, Samella Lewis, and Charles White, but the Davises did not search exclusively for well-known or documented artists.
Instead, they sought artists whose work reflected, in the words of artist, curator, educator, and arts activist Tina Dunkley, 鈥渁 spectrum of approaches to the Black image in order to console the psyche and contribute to a more authentic articulation of the self.鈥� The result is a rich and eclectic collection of artworks in different mediums, subjects, and styles by a group of artists of the African diaspora who鈥攊n terms of training, experience, and expression鈥攁re strikingly diverse but unified in their use of cultural and historical narratives.
The Davises鈥� collection is considered one of the finest collections of its kind in the world, and 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. The exhibition brings together an awe-inspiring selection of works, but it is their personal resonance鈥攖heir connection to the Davises鈥� hopes, passions, and everyday lives鈥攖hat gives the collection its unique power.
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From September 27 to December 20, 2025, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art will present the traveling exhibition Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art, in the Maribeth Collins Lobby and Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery. Organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC, the exhibition celebrates the passion and commitment of an ordinary couple who spent more than thirty-five years as devoted collectors and connoisseurs, building a collection of vivid artworks that are both resonant and remarkably personal.
The exhibition features sixty-two selected works from the collection of Kerry and C. Betty Davis of Atlanta, Georgia. Kerry, a retired postal worker, and Betty, a former television news producer, gladly gave up many ordinary comforts in order to live with extraordinary paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings as their principal luxuries. Their collection includes work by Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Sam Gilliam, Jacob Lawrence, Samella Lewis, and Charles White, but the Davises did not search exclusively for well-known or documented artists.
Instead, they sought artists whose work reflected, in the words of artist, curator, educator, and arts activist Tina Dunkley, 鈥渁 spectrum of approaches to the Black image in order to console the psyche and contribute to a more authentic articulation of the self.鈥� The result is a rich and eclectic collection of artworks in different mediums, subjects, and styles by a group of artists of the African diaspora who鈥攊n terms of training, experience, and expression鈥攁re strikingly diverse but unified in their use of cultural and historical narratives.
The Davises鈥� collection is considered one of the finest collections of its kind in the world, and 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. The exhibition brings together an awe-inspiring selection of works, but it is their personal resonance鈥攖heir connection to the Davises鈥� hopes, passions, and everyday lives鈥攖hat gives the collection its unique power.
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