BECK MUSEUM

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Original Artwork

Local Artists

Discover extraordinary local artists and original artwork

Featured Artists
Alan Jones "Theophilus" 
LaKeisha Fears-Perez
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE

Tree of Life's 
Harmonies Triptych

Permanent Exhibit
By Alan Jones (Theophilus)

The Black Family Exhibit, fittingly titled Tree of Life’s Harmonies Triptych by Alan Jones, is an example of our generational roots and our continuing family heritage. This mural project, which includes photos of local families, involved the entire community. The mural is a permanent exhibit affixed to the façade of Beck and is visible along the Dandridge Avenue corridor. Wind chimes are installed behind the permanent structure to add another dimension to this work of art.
The Family Roots - Genealogy 
In honor of the 40-year anniversary of Alex Haley’s American Classic, Roots, a story that sparked an extraordinary dialogue about slavery and ignited a new interest in genealogy, Beck announced, in 2017, its Black Family Photo Exhibition. Families were asked to submit a photo for this special exhibition. Beck partnered with the Dogwood Arts Festival on this project and received support from ORNL Federal Credit Union and US Bank.

The Beck Museum 

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William Hastie Room

Federal Judge & Governor

William H. Hastie

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee November 17, 1904, William H. Hastie, Jr. became the first African American Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the first African American Federal Judge in the United States.

In the William Hastie Room, located on the second floor, a permanent memorial to the Judge, you will find his personal scrapbooks, honorary degrees, plagues and scrolls. Newspaper items concerning his appointment as Governor of the Virgin Islands and his senate confirmation to the Federal Court are also on display.

Margaret Carson Library

The Margaret Carson library is named in honor of Margaret Helen Singleton Carson, archivist, historian, founding member, and a leading force in building the historical collection found in the archives at Beck. The rare and extensive collection of books are housed in the Beck Archive Studio. Books are catalogued and available for reading during your visit. Books are not available for usage outside of the Beck Center. The Library features original artwork, and Austin High School and Knoxville College yearbooks. Also, on display, the New Salem Baptist Church Pulpit, built by Lewis C. Buckner, born into slavery in 1856. The church pulpit is the only remaining piece of work completed for New Salem Church in 1886 (Sevier County, TN).
Featured on the expansive original marble fireplace in the Ethel Beck Hall is a portrait of Ethel Benson Beck, President of the Knoxville Colored Orphanage. The beautiful portrait was presented, as a surprise with a large number of people in attendance, on September 17, 1938 in appreciation for the progress that was made under her guidance. A cast iron heater circa mid nineteenth century, retrofitted as an electric heater in the early twentieth century is on display. The Hall features additional artwork, photographs and historical artifacts.
The Village Market is the gift shop that allows guest to take memories of Beck with them including: tee-shirts, posters, cups, souvenirs, local artwork, notecards, and more. Books by local authors are available along with an array of books published by Beck. A permanent exhibit, “The Beck Story of Urban Renewal Urban Removal,” is displayed pictorially on the upper walls and provides a historical reflection of our community Pre and Post Urban Renewal. Original chairs and an original reel from the Gem Theater, a theater for black people in Knoxville demolished during Urban Renewal, is also on exhibit.
Filled with relics and original artifacts from Africa, the Middle Passage, slavery, the Civil War, and the Jim Crow era, the Heritage Room is a reminder of the plight of a resilient people. The Heritage Room includes a beautiful brick fireplace; there are five throughout the original home. The vast conference table in the center of the room allows for meeting space. 

Pioneer Staircase

The Pioneer Staircase that leads to the second floor includes biographical information on extraordinary people from the area. Local greats like author, poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, first Black licensed veterinarian in Tennessee Dr. Howard Gray Senter, famed blues singer Ida B. Cox, and many others. Guest will enjoy getting to know these Pioneers.

Civil Rights Corner

The Civil Rights Corner is on the landing of the second floor. Guests are able to view photographs and read captions on the local Civil Rights Movement in Knoxville. On display are photos of marches, demonstrations, protests and arrests of students and activist, all in the fight for justice and equality.

The Research Lab is filled with rare, unique, and invaluable information available for scholarly research. Included in the Lab are old Black newspapers, handbills, booklets, newsletters, and the like. On exhibit in the Lab, “Traveling By Car During the Jim Crow Era,” by Kortney Williams, Department of Geography at the University of TN, a project conducted under the auspices of the RESET program (Race, Ethnicity, and Social Equity in Tourism). Along with photos of African Americans and their automobiles, there is a photo of Dr. William Wallace Derrick, the first Black man to own a car in Knoxville. Also available for viewing, a sampling of the Negro Green Motorist Books.

The collection in the Beck Archive Studio consists of 50,000 objects documenting over 200 years of local African American history and culture. The Urban Renewal Project grant, awarded by IMLS under the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture, is allowing a more in-depth assessment of the people, places and effects of Urban Renewal and its continuing impact. The grant is enabling Beck the opportunity to preserve and catalog its one-of-a-kind collection and make it accessible to the community its collection of materials related to Knoxville’s Urban Renewal Programs of the mid-Twentieth Century and beyond.

EXHIBIT HALL

Special Event Venue

With over 5,000 square feet of open space, the Exhibit Hall is a great venue for banquets, receptions, retreats and gatherings. Along with feature exhibits, on exhibition in the Hall, are two permanent exhibits. The “Beck Cultural Exchange Center Pioneer’s Timeline,” features historical narratives on pioneers from East Tennessee beginning with Richard Payne, affectionately known as “Uncle Dick.” Payne was the first Black businessman who sold drinking water on city streets beginning in 1845. The “African American Pioneer’s Timeline” features African American greats beginning in Africa and stretches throughout history. The Timeline is an original rendering by local artist Alan Jones who was commissioned to design it for the brick frieze at the University of Tennessee Black Cultural Center, renamed the Frieson Black Cultural Center. 

GALLERY

Special Event Venue

With over 2,000 square feet of open space, the Gallery is a great venue for intimate banquets, receptions, retreats and gatherings. The Gallery has rotating exhibits along with featured artwork by local artists.

The Beck Museum Experience

Your Visit

When you visit the Beck Museum, you will be able to tour the historic mansion built in 1912, and more. Since opening, Beck has continued to grow. Over the years, additional parcels have been acquired, renovations have been made, and extensions have been added to the original house. 

Museum Additions

The Museum additions include: 

2005

Margaret Carson Library 


2007

Gallery 


2010

Exhibit Hall and 

Archive Studio 

Coming Soon

In 2015, the Beck campus was once again extended, and an adjacent property was acquired. The property is the last remaining ancestral home of world-renown artist, Beauford Delaney, and his younger brother acclaimed artist Joseph. While this museum is not yet available, Beck is restoring this extraordinary piece of Knoxville history as the future Delaney Museum at Beck. We look forward to welcoming you when it opens.