Discovery Park opens exhibit of art by Jubie Henderson of Fulton, Kentucky

Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tenn., has curated and opened an exhibit of the art of Jubie Henderson in the museum’s Southern Artist Showcase gallery. The gallery features two new exhibits each year spotlighting Southern painters, photographers, sculptors and other fine artists. This exhibit is sponsored by Conley & Conley Law Firm.

A launch party for this exhibit will take place on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. with a short program discussing Henderson’s art with Discovery Park senior director of exhibits and collections, Jennifer Wildes.

Henderson was a self-taught wildlife artist and woodcarver from Fulton, Kentucky who specialized in native birds of the western Kentucky and Tennessee regions. While he focused most of his work on birds and is more well known for those pieces, he did occasionally produce paintings depicting landscapes. Included are paintings of Reelfoot Lake.

A farmer and cabinetmaker by trade, while recovering from rheumatic fever in his thirties—for the second time in his life—he began to paint. He never had an art lesson, but too weak to work and wishing to remain productive, he began painting and found himself gifted with a natural eye for beauty and balance. Due to physical limitations, he had to rely on his memory to create his art.

“I have been an admirer of Jubie Henderson’s art since it first came to my attention in our offsite storage,” said Jennifer Wildes. “I’m looking forward to our guests having the opportunity to see this art in person and get to know Jubie through his work.”

During his life, his art was featured at the Kentucky State Fair, the Midsouth Fair, the International Banana Festival, the First Face of Kentucky collection at the Kentucky State Capitol, the annual art exhibit at Cape Girardeau and one-man shows in Martin, Tennessee and in Kentucky (Fulton, Hickman and Paducah). He was a member of the Artists Registry at the Brooks Memorial Art Gallery (now known as the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art) for several years. His original work was also displayed there in 1970.

The exhibit of Jubie Henderson’s art is sponsored by Conley & Conley Law Firm and will be on display at Discovery Park through Aug. 11, 2024.