Lloyd Branson

Lloyd Branson
Portrait of Branson (1873) by early Knoxville photographer T.M. Schleier
Born	Enoch Lloyd Branson 1853 Knox County, Tennessee
Died	June 12, 1925 Knoxville, Tennessee
Resting place	Old Gray Cemetery Knoxville, Tennessee
Nationality	American
Education	University of Tennessee National Academy of Design
Known for	Painting

Enoch Lloyd Branson (1853–1925) was an American artist best known for his portraits of Southern politicians and depictions of early East Tennessee history. One of the most influential figures in Knoxville's early art circles, Branson received training at the National Academy of Design in the 1870s and subsequently toured the great art centers of Europe. After returning to Knoxville, he operated a portrait shop with photographer Frank McCrary. He was a mentor to fellow Knoxville artist Catherine Wiley, and is credited with discovering twentieth-century modernist Beauford Delaney.

Branson was born in what is now Union County, Tennessee, (then part of Knox County) to English parents. His family moved to Knoxville in 1868, where Lloyd found work in a brickyard. As a child, he impressed his friends by crafting small figures out of clay.

Around the time of the Civil War, prominent Knoxville physician John Mason Boyd noticed a sketch of Ulysses S. Grant Branson had made on a cigar box, and provided financial assistance for Branson to attend East Tennessee University. In 1871, Branson drew favorable attention for his exhibition at the East Tennessee Division Fair. By the following year, his portraits had impressed art enthusiasts to the extent that the Knoxville Chronicle described him as Knoxville's "native genius."

Branson moved to New York in 1873, where he attended the National Academy of Design. Two years later, he captured first prize at one of the Academy's exhibitions for his drawing of a gladiator, which earned him a scholarship to receive further training in Paris. Some of Branson's later work showed elements of the French Barbizon school, though it's uncertain whether or not he ever visited Europe.