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Miles and Miles of Texas
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Issue: #12 September/2009
Greetings!

Thank you for your interest in CASETA and early Texas art.  This summer has been incredibly productive for CASETA and the coming months are certain to be even busier. We are proud to be supporting several exhibitions of early Texas art this fall.  Be sure to check the calendar below to learn more about these and other early Texas art shows and events happening around the Lone Star State. 

In addition, the CASETA Symposium Committee has already begun crafting next year's Annual Texas Art Fair and Symposium on Early Texas Art, and we need your help to make the 8th  Symposium the best ever.  To suggest speakers or topics, or to submit a proposal for a session at the Symposium, please see the section below - 2010 Symposium: Call for Proposals. We encourage you to act fast! Please submit your proposals by October 9.  Thank you so much for your help as preparations continue for another successful symposium weekend next April 16-18 in Houston.
 
Best wishes,
Courtney DiSabato
Director, CASETA
From the Board of Directors
Tam Kiehnhoff Greetings from
Tam Kiehnhoff, Vice Chair,
CASETA Board of Directors

I hope the end of summer finds everyone healthy, happy and energized by timely vacations.  I know that for many of us the exploration of early Texas art rarely takes a break.  A prime example and a proponent of this "collecting-and-researching-never-sleeps" philosophy is my friend Randy Tibbits.  Randy has been working this summer on the study and transcription of correspondence by some of our most interesting early painters. For some of us the stories behind the paintings are often as rewarding to uncover as the works themselves.  We find those stories in scholarly publications, archival materials such as letters and, when we are very lucky, conversations with living artists.  We hope you enjoy reading about what Randy did on his summer vacation, and we look forward to hearing what you did on yours. 

Take care,
Tam Kiehnhoff
Save the Date
  8th Annual Texas Art Fair and
Symposium on Early Texas Art

April 16-18, 2010
OMNI Houston Hotel

Four Riverway, Houston, TX 77056
A limited room block is available for $135/night.
Call 1-800-843-6661 to book by March 16, 2010
 
2010 Symposium: Call for Proposals
Submit your ideas for Symposium Sessions  
Have an idea for a great session related to early Texas art?  Heard an excellent, engaging speaker who might like to speak at the CASETA Symposium?  Or perhaps you would like to speak at the Symposium yourself?  We want to hear from you.

Click here to learn more about submitting your ideas or making a proposal and to download the Session Proposal Form.
Please submit one form per session idea, but feel free to submit as many ideas as you like.  The Symposium Committee will review all submissions, and then make session selections to ensure a well balanced program.  Any session proposals not utilized this year will be saved and forwarded to next year's committee for review.  Please submit your ideas by October 9.

Your comments, suggestions and ideas are important to us. 
 
Contact Courtney DiSabato at casetanews@gmail.com or (512)245-1986 for more information.
Member Spotlight
Cherry, La Madonna A Houston Modernist Writes Home:
Two Letters from Emma Richardson Cherry to Her Daughter in the 1920s
By Randolph K. Tibbits

Part 1: Mrs. Cherry's Red Letter Day

From at least the time of her first known drawing done in 1873 at age 14, straight through her life -- she was still painting and keeping up with modern trends in art at 93 -- Emma Richardson Cherry (1859-1954) maintained a clear focus on the career in art she wished to pursue. Though she did follow the path of wife/mother/homemaker expected of women in her time and place, and though she felt, at times, that she had not fully succeeded in any of her roles as a result, by 1920, at age 61, she could already look back on a long and full career as a professional artist, art teacher and initiator of arts institutions. Even so, she was not ready simply to look back and to rest on her laurels.

Cherry lived most of her life in places that were literally frontiers when it came to art: Lincoln, NE, Kansas City, MO, Denver and, after 1896, Houston. To stay abreast of happenings in the greater art world she had either to travel, which she did often; to stay in touch with art colleagues around the world, which she did throughout her life; or to bring fragments of that greater world to her art frontiers, which she did everywhere she lived by founding schools, clubs and museums, mounting exhibitions with borrowed works, and reading the world art press.
For Cherry on her frontier, staying abreast was work, but it was work well worth the effort. She always wanted to know what was happening -- what was new -- in art so that she could incorporate into her own art and teaching what she found interesting and useful in the new...
Click here to continue reading this article online
And stay tuned for Part 2 coming next month!

Image: Emma Richardson Cherry, La Madonna a la Spaghet, c. early 1920s

If you are interested in writing an article for our Member Spotlight, please contact Courtney DiSabato, Director, at casetanews@gmail.com or (512)245-1986.  Articles can cover any topic related to early Texas art.  We look forward to hearing from you.

MILES AND MILES OF TEXAS:
The Lone Star State
Through the Eyes of Buck Schiwetz
Schiwetz An Exhibition Jointly Sponsored by
The Heritage Society & CASETA
July 21- September 27, 2009

Image: Anderson-Clayton Cottonseed Oil Plant, Memphis, Texas, 1950, Mixed Media on Board, 17 �  x 31 �, Private Collection, Houston

  The Heritage Society and CASETA collaborate to present a rare exhibition of the Texas works of E.M. "Buck" Schiwetz (1898-1984), one of the city and state's most beloved artists.  Originally from Cuero, Buck Schiwetz arrived in Houston in the late 1920's, by way of Texas A&M College.  In the seven decades thereafter, as artist and illustrator, he managed to draw and paint his way through Texas, recording the hallmarks and landmarks of the Lone Star State as no artist before or since.  Trained as an architect, he proved particularly adept at capturing the simple elegance and rich character of the state's indigenous structures, offering narrative images-- in graphite, watercolor, mixed media and oil-- that pay homage to Texas's earliest buildings and homes.  As a long-time illustrator with Humble Oil and their Humble Way publication, Schiwetz's body of work on the Texas oil field is unparalleled, capturing the evolution and ascent of this important industry during a period of stupendous growth and development.
 
Along the way, the artist's work was exhibited broadly and entered the permanent collections of important museums and universities throughout the state.  Schiwetz images have been more frequently published than perhaps any other Texas artist.  He received numerous awards and honors during his lifetime, culminating in his being named Texas State Artist in 1977.  His is an unrivaled visual legacy of the state in which he lived, and this is a "must-see" exhibition for all Texans.
 
Miles and Miles of Texas is on display at the Heritage Society Museum, 1100 Bagby Street in Houston, Texas from July 21 through September 27, 2009.  The exhibition offers a rich survey of the artist's work, including more than fifty of Schiwetz's finest Texas subjects.  The selection depicts the artist's range of styles and media, and shows works from throughout his long career.  A catalogue, including an essay by Michael R. Grauer of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, accompanies the exhibition.
 
Miles and Miles of Texas is made possible with support from CASETA through Houston Endowment Inc., and from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.


Early Texas Art Across the State
Current Lectures, Exhibits and Events
We know that our list is not complete, so please help CASETA keep its members in the loop.  If you are aware of any current or upcoming early Texas art exhibitions or events, please email information to casetanews@gmail.com.


Early Texas Art Events

Art in Texas: Special Preview Weekend
featuring three exhibitions celebrating art in Texas
Texas Art Seen*
Michael Frary: In Sight
Texas Photographers
Opening Reception, 6:30-8pm, Friday, September 25
Panel Discussion, 10am-12pm, Saturday, September 26
Moderator: Francine Carraro, Ph.D., Executive Director
Panelists: Judy Deaton, Chief Curator, The Grace Museum
Carl R. McQueary, Guest Curator of Texas Art Seen
Michael Grauer, Curator, Panhandle Plains Historical Museum
Scott Grant Barker, Historian, Fort Worth
RSVP/ More information- Patricia Ditmore (325)673-4587
The Grace Museum
Abilene, Texas

Texas Regional Art Symposium
October 10, 2009
Historical and contemporary art exhibits will feature well-known artists of the region, such as Frank Reaugh, Jerry Bywaters, and Frank Klepper.  Distinguished speakers will include Lonn Taylor, Francine Carraro, Victoria Cummins, Bob Reitz, Light Cummins, Sam Ratcliffe, and Carol Roark on subjects ranging from southwest material culture to original research on individual artists.  The capstone of the symposium will be an open discussion led by area collectors who will exhibit and discuss their favorite pieces of art. 
Heard Craig Center for the Arts
McKinney, Texas

David Dike Fine Art Early Texas Art Auction
October 24, 2009, 4pm
Auction preview 11am
Lecture 3pm
Dallas Auction Gallery
Dallas, Texas

The 2nd Biennial David B. Warren Symposium
American Material Culture and the Texas Experience:
Art and Architecture before 1900 in Texas, the South, and the Southwest*
October 30- November 1
One of the greatest cultural treasures in the state of Texas, Bayou Bend is renowned for its superb collection of American decorative arts and paintings. To honor Bayou Bend's
founding director emeritus and his passion for American material culture, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, established the David B. Warren Symposium, which is presented biennially.  Each symposium will develop a different aspect of the overall theme of American material culture and the Texas experience.

At the 2nd Biennial David B. Warren Symposium, five distinguished scholars place the pre-1900 art and architecture of Texas, the lower South, and the Southwest within a national and international context.  The conference ($35 registration) includes a presentation on 19th century European painters in Texas, and an optional field trip on Sunday ($45; space is limited) will conclude with a visit to a major Houston private collection of early Texas art.

*A CASETA grant helped make these programs possible.

Exhibitions of Early Texas Art

Jerry Bywaters: Lone Star Printmaker
July 18 - November 8
Blanton Museum of Art
Austin, Texas

Miles and Miles of Texas: The Lone Star State Through the Eyes of Buck Schiwetz*
July 21- September 27
The Heritage Society Museum
Houston, Texas

Don Snell: From Then 'Til Now
September 2- September 28
Lillian Bradshaw Gallery, Dallas Public Library- Central
Dallas, Texas

Texas Modern: The Rediscovery of Early Texas Abstraction (1935-1965)*
September 17- January 3
Art Museum of South Texas
Corpus Christi, Texas

Back to the Future
September 19- September 26
William Reaves Fine Art
Houston, Texas

Inward- Outward: Erik Sprohge
September 22- October 11
Gallery M Squared
Houston, Texas

Texas Art Seen*
September 25- February 16
Grace Museum
Abilene, Texas

Michael Frary: In Sight
September 25- January 16
Grace Museum
Abilene, Texas

Henri Gadbois and Leila McConnell: Side by Side*
October 1- November 5
O'Kane Gallery, University of Houston- Downtown
Houston, Texas

Texas Modernists: Selections from the Collection of Carl McQueary
December 11- January 24
Nave Museum
Victoria, Texas

*A CASETA grant helped make these exhibitions possible.

Related Exhibitions

Views and Visions: Prints of the American West (1820-1970)
September 19- January 10
Amon Carter Museum
Fort Worth, Texas


Texas Photographers from the Alice and Bill Wright Photography Collection
September 25- April 3
Grace Museum
Abilene, Texas


Six Degrees of Separation: Selections from the Permanent Collection
September 26- January 24
Old Jail Art Center
Albany, Texas

CASETA's E-news is sent monthly as a service to our friends and members.  To join CASETA, visit our website at caseta.org.  Please feel free to share any comments or suggestions by email or phone.  If there is content that you would like to see in the E-news or on our website, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Courtney DiSabato
Director
CASETA
casetanews@gmail.com
(512)245-1986