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Home > Exhibits > 30 Years of Folklife Program

In this outtake from promotional photos for the Cumberland Music Tour, Virgil Anderson cuts up for his tourmates at the Sharps Place grocery. Others are (L to R) Johnny Ray Hicks, Hershel Anderson, Ralph Troxell, Clyde Troxell, Clyde Davenport, and Willard Anderson. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1987.

In this outtake from promotional photos for the Cumberland Music Tour, Virgil Anderson cuts up for his tourmates at the Sharps Place grocery. Others are (L to R) Johnny Ray Hicks, Hershel Anderson, Ralph Troxell, Clyde Troxell, Clyde Davenport, and Willard Anderson. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1987.
  • In this outtake from promotional photos for the Cumberland Music Tour, Virgil Anderson cuts up for his tourmates at the Sharps Place grocery. Others are (L to R) Johnny Ray Hicks, Hershel Anderson, Ralph Troxell, Clyde Troxell, Clyde Davenport, and Willard Anderson. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1987.
  • Fancy dancer at the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee Fall Pow-Wow. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1987.
  • Woodcarver Parks Townsend, of Elizabethton, with two fancy snake canes. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1989.
  • Koto ensemble from the Tennessee Meiji Gakuin School, of Sweetwater, at the International Jubilee Festival in Knoxville. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1996.
  • Renowned barbecue pitmaster Alma “Chinaman” Hutch, of Cedar Grove. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1998.
  • Basketmaker Alberta Underwood, of Morrison, with one of her later baskets. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1999.
  • Basketmaker Trevle Wood, of Murfreesboro, with two of her original forms—a tiny miniature and a colorful “butterfly basket.” Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1999.
  • Basketmaker Josie Jones, of Smithville, with one of her “gizzard” baskets. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1999.
  • Hungarian-American needleworker Clara Fodor, of Linden, with her embroidered tribute to the United States. She received the Tennessee Folklife Heritage Award in 2003. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1999.
  • Old-time singer Roy Harper, of Manchester, at the Mountaineer Folk Festival. A recipient of the Tennessee Folklife Heritage Award in 2003, Harper makes use of this handmade harmonica and kazoo rack in his performances. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2006.
  • Parks Townsend (left) enjoys a story by Ethel Birchfield, of Hampton, at the David Crockett Days festival in Chuckey. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1986.
  • Edwardo Fuentes of Mariachi Tequila at the International Jubilee Festival in Knoxville. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1996.
  • Amanda Burns, of Celina, shooting in a ring game at the 1996 International Marbles Festival at Standing Stone State Park. She won the girl’s division of the 1993 National Marbles Championship in Wildwood, New Jersey. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1996.
  • Elsie May Frye, of Lexington, was among the local musicians documented in a collaborative West Tennessee fieldwork project. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1997.
  • Peach seed carver Roger Smith, of Culleoka, arranges figures in his baseball field diorama. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2001.
  • Basketmaker Mary Davis, of Woodbury, with a group of her graduated miniatures. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1998.
  • Woodcarver James Bunch, of Madisonville, with his replicas of a motorcycle and bicycle made entirely of wood. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2001.
  • Jewell Allen, of Whiteville, weaving a chair seat with cornhusks at the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1986.
  • Rachel Couples, Herschel Holmes, and Carlton Holmes perform at a musical event in Henderson County. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2001.
  • John Bickerstaff and Eric Strong shape flint marbles at the National Rolley Hole Tournament. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2001.
  • Ralph Blizard, recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship in 2002 and the Tennessee Folklife Heritage Award in 2003, fiddles at the Blountville jam. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2001.
  • Bonnie Williams, Wendy Williams, Minnie Bell, Sally Wells, and Joyce Bell, of Lauderdale County, at the opening of the “Choctaw Crafts: Making Tennessee Home” exhibit at the TAC Gallery. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2004.
  • Girl in Lao tribal costume during a youth performance at the 25th anniversary of the Royal Lao Dance Troupe’s relocation, in Smyrna. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2005
  • Broom-maker Jack Martin, of Stantonville, at the Mountaineer Folk Festival. Martin resurrected his grandfather’s Hockaday Handmade Brooms shop to keep this McNairy County craft tradition alive. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2007.
  • Dancers in opening arena ceremony at the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee Fall Pow-Wow. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2007.
  • Favorite East Tennessee fiddler Charlie Acuff enjoys attention from fans at the Louie Bluie Festival. Acuff received the Tennessee Folklife Heritage Award in 2005. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2008.
  • Charlie Collins and Larry McNeely warm up for the Pinnacle Mountain Boys reunion performance at the Louie Bluie Festival. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2008.
  • Float with girls in costume at the Lao New Year’s parade, Buddhapathip Temple, Nashville. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2009.
  • Eddie Coffey and Dan Knowles, of Paris, play at a TAC conference at Paris Landing State Park. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2009.
  • Marble-maker and bluesman Bud Garrett, of Free Hill, performs at the National Rolley Hole Marble Tournament. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1985.
  • Chairmaker Dallas Newberry and his wife Aline
  • Fisherman Jep Mackey, of Hancock County, ties a fishnet for use in the Clinch River. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1985.
  • Outsider artist Dow Pugh, of Monterey, with his concrete figure of a spaceman that was exhibited at the 1982 Knoxville World’s Fair. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1985.
  • Rick Stewart, of Panther Creek, uses a drawknife and shaving horse. He took up the coopering craft of his grandfather Alex Stewart, who received the National Heritage Fellowship in 1983. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1985.
  • Fiddlemaker Charles “Jean” Horner, of Westel, examines an instrument rim being shaped in an outside form. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1985.
  • Tobacco roller Alfred Malone at R.C. Owens Tobacco Company in Gallatin, where he began making tobacco twists in the 1920s. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1985.
  • Street singer Robert “Boot Roots” Montgomery, of Chattanooga, performing at Bobby and Teresa Fulcher’s wedding reception. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1992.
  • Banjo player Uncle Pete Pilkington, of Shelbyville, who also carved mouth-bows and bull-roarers, was the first folk artist documented by Roby Cogswell while he was in high school. Photo by Robert Cogswell, c. 1966.
  • Blues singer Jessie Mae Hemphill, of Memphis, known as “The She-Wolf.” Photo by Robert Cogswell, 1987.
  • Marble-makers Junior and Malcomb Strong, of Moss, in the building where Malcomb hosts weekly Tennessee Big Square games every Thursday. Photo by Robert Cogswell, 2009.
30 Years of Folklife Program

At his retirement from the Tennessee Arts Commission in December 2014, Dr. Robert “Roby” Cogswell left a legacy of 22,000 photographs documenting Tennessee’s traditional arts and culture. This exhibit is a sampling of these images. Read more…

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Address: 401 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 615-741-1701

For accessibility accommodation requests including alternate digital formats, captioning, ASL, and assistive technologies please contact Kim Johnson, Director of Arts Access, 615-532-9797.

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