Thornton Dial, sr.

(1928-2016) Bessemer, AL

I first met Thornton Dial at a show of his work at a downtown Nashville gallery in the Spring of 1998. I wish I could see that show again now—it was a terrific and terrifically ambitious undertaking by the gallery (The Arts Company), driven by its owner/director (and my future employer, for a while), Dr. Anne Brown. Of course at that point Mr. Dial was well on his way towards being acknowledged as one of the most important visual artists of our time; that show was just a glimpse of his greatness.