Advertisements By Vivian DiSalvo The Knoxville Seven – made up of Kermit Ewing, Carl Sublett, Walter Stevens, Robert Birdwell, Joanne Higgs, Richard Clarke, and Phillip Nichols – changed their local art scene in legendary ways. What started as a group of faculty members soon turned into a collection of artists who made art history. Seven unassuming artists singlehandedly pioneered the abstract art scene in East Tennessee and changed the Knoxville art scene forever. It all started with Kermit Ewing, who founded the University of Tennessee’s art department in 1948. Ewing had an eye for abstract expressionism that was new to … Continue reading The Knoxville Seven: The Seven who Started it All