The Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA) has announced its first new exhibit of 2025: “Fragile Genius: Catherine Wiley and Beauford Delaney,” a unique exhibit celebrating two contrasting American artists and the artistic brilliance that bonds them.

In fact, “Fragile Genius” is the first time Catherine Wiley and Beauford Delaney have shared a gallery. This one-of-a-kind exhibit at OUMA will illustrate a unique connection between the two artists seldom understood by historians—a shared artistic brilliance whetted against social prejudice and mental health struggles.

Catherine Wiley and Beauford Delaney, both hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee, achieved remarkable success as artists despite the societal obstacles they faced. Wiley’s Impressionist works broke barriers for women in the early 20th-century Southern art world. At the same time, Delaney’s vibrant modernist paintings challenged norms as a Black, queer artist navigating systemic racism and mental illness. “Fragile Genius” examines the profound ways in which Wiley and Delaney’s art speaks to the challenges they faced.

The exhibit also sheds light on how societal prejudices—whether rooted in gender, race or sexuality—shaped both artists’ lives and legacies. Wiley’s work offers a window into the expectations placed on women artists in the early 20th century, while Delaney’s paintings challenge viewers to confront the intersection of race, identity and artistic expression in a world that often sought to marginalize his voice.

“‘Fragile Genius’ is a profound exploration of resilience and creativity in the face of adversity,” says John Daniel Tilford, Curator of Collections at the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art. “By bringing together the works of Catherine Wiley and Beauford Delaney, we shed light on their incredible artistic brilliance and their shared courage in confronting societal prejudices and personal struggles.”

“Fragile Genius” was curated by Tilford, with contributions from Ariel Saah ’25, the Ten10 Curatorial Intern for Diversity in Museum Leadership.

This exhibition is part of The Shelley and Donald Rubin Exhibition Series, established in 2013 through a generous gift from Shelley and Donald J. Rubin ’56 to support exhibitions at the OUMA and arts-related curricular programs complementing each exhibition of the series.

This exhibition catalog and related research were also made possible through the generous support of the Forward Arts Foundation.

“Fragile Genius: Catherine Wiley and Beauford Delaney” will be on view at the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art Jan. 30 through May 4, 2025.

Featured image: Catherine Wiley (Coal Creek, Tennessee 1879-1958 Norristown Pennsylvania) Self-Portrait, oil on canvas, Private Collection of Diana Wiley Blackledge; Beauford Delaney (Knoxville 1901-1979 Paris), Self-Portrait, 1964, oil on canvas, 16 1/8 x 13 inches, signed; Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN, Tennessee Historical Society Collection (2001.46) © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator, Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY