David Ramey: A Gift of Memory

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE MUSEUM SEE WHAT’S ON AT THE TAUBMAN Home / Art / This anniversary marks a defining moment for the Taubman Museum of Art and for Roanoke. In celebration of the Museum’s 75th Anniversary, and in response to the strong community engagement with the 2023 exhibition David Ramey: Gainsboro Road and Beyond, the Museum is presenting a selection of works by David Alexander Ramey, Sr. (1939–2017) — an extraordinary body of drawings that honors Ramey’s enduring connection to Roanoke and its history. Ramey was a self-taught artist who spent decades working for the Norfolk and Western Railway. In the later years of his life, he turned with remarkable focus to drawing from memory the Gainsboro and Northeast neighborhoods of his youth. Working in colored pencil, graphite, and ink, he recorded the storefronts, churches, railroad yards, celebrations, and daily exchanges that defined Roanoke’s thriving Black community — scenes later irrevocably altered by urban renewal. His works are at once intimate and expansive, personal recollections that together form an irreplaceable visual archive. A selection of original drawings is presented here alongside reproductions of additional works. This approach allows the Museum to share Ramey’s work while caring responsibly for these works on paper. Presented in conjunction with the Museum’s 75th Anniversary, this installation celebrates the Roanoke community that has shaped both the artist’s work and the Museum’s history. This exhibition is on view in the Media Lab March 6-June 28, 2026. Add to Calendar Driving? Get Directions Share This! The Museum’s 75th Anniversary programming is supported in part by the Helen S. and Charles G. Patterson, Jr., Charitable Foundation Trust and the Richard & Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee. We gratefully acknowledge our community partners whose work continues to sustain and expand David Ramey’s legacy: Roanoke Public Libraries, the City of Roanoke, the Roanoke Higher Education Center, and the Harrison Museum of African American Culture. EXHIBITION PREVIEW SELECTED WORKS David Ramey (American, 1939-2017), Roanoke: The City with a Star, ©David Ramey David Ramey (American, 1939-2017), Gainsboro Road and Beyond, ©David Ramey David Ramey (American, 1939-2017), Gainsboro Road, ©David Ramey KEEP EXPLORING View All Upcoming Exhibitions Apr 18, 2026 – Jun 11, 2028 Mokha Laget: Intersecting Terrains View Exhibit Jul 16, 2026 – Jan 03, 2027 It’s a Party! Abstract Work from the Permanent Collection View Exhibit Oct 15, 2026 – Jan 24, 2027 American Made: Paintings and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection View Exhibit