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| CASETA Membership | |
Membership Levels:
Individual: $50.00
Supporter: $100.00
Contributor: $250.00
Benefactor: $500.00
Patron: $1,000.00
Institutional:
$250.00
(Includes 1 Symposium Registration)
Student/K-12 Teacher: $25.00
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| Contact Information | |
Board Chair
Newsletter Editors
CASETA Headquarters
Becky TiemannMadeleine Crouch & Co.14070 Proton RoadSuite 100Dallas, Texas 75244Phone: 972.233.9107 x215Fax: 972.490.4219becky@madcrouch.com
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 | | Stephen Alton, Chair |
As the new year begins, Early Texas Art (ETA) becomes another year older. Please allow me to explain what I mean by this.
CASETA defines "early Texas art" as "art produced by artists who were born in and/or lived and worked in Texas through 40 years prior to the present date." Rather than accepting a static definition of what constitutes ETA, CASETA has decided to adopt a "rolling" definition of the term. This ensures that "early" Texas art is on the move from year to year. Thus, with the dawning of 2011, ETA now includes Texas art produced in the year 1971.
Some authorities on Texas art disagree with our rolling definition of ETA. Some would say that "early" means only that art which was produced before the 20th century, or prior to the year 1920, or at any time before World War II. While CASETA understands and respects this difference of opinion over the meaning of the word "early" when used in the context of Texas art, we believe that our broader definition, being more inclusive and ever-changing, is to be preferred.
Why? Simply put, our definition casts a wider net for ETA. Included within our definition is mid-20th century art, so much of which is innovative and interesting. Think of the work produced in the years 1950-1970 by some of the great Texas artists. Many of these artists made the transition from regionalism to modernism during this time period. Others began their careers during these years, emerging as full-blown modernists. A definition of ETA that freezes the meaning of "early" at some fixed point in time prior to 1945 would exclude this important mid-century artwork. Thus, CASETA chooses to define "early" in a way that includes this great work.
Thank you for your interest in "early" Texas art and for your support of CASETA.
Stephen Alton
Chair |
| 2011 SYMPOSIUM | | |
April 15-17, 2011
9th Annual Texas Art Fair and
Symposium on Early Texas Art
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
400 North Olive Street
Dallas, Texas
Phone: 888-627-8191
CASETA Rate: $129/night
Last day to receive CASETA Rate: March 18th
Program:
The Artist Colony at Christoval - Howard Taylor
Early Texas Folk Artists - Kevin Vogel
Hispanic Artists of Texas - Kelly Donahue Wallace
Texas Impressionism - Michael Grauer
Texas Modernism - Katie Robinson Edwards
Legends of Early Texas Art Panel - Bill Cheek & Morris Matson
Buck Winn Documentary
Watch your email for more information on these programs
Special Event, Saturday, April 16, 6:30-8:30pm
The Albritton Collection of Early Texas Art
The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC)
3120 McKinney Ave.
Dallas
Dallas collector Claude Albritton has collected early Texas art for over 30 years and has assembled what many consider to be the finest private collection that exists today. While various individual pieces from his collection have occasionally been loaned out for use in museum exhibitions, this will be the first time a large selection from his collection will be put on public display. In support of the CASETA Symposium, Mr. Albritton has agreed to display over 50 major pieces exclusively for the Symposium attendees. This one night only exhibition will be hung in the galleries of the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) exclusively for the CASETA Symposium attendees.
The artwork featured in the exhibition will span a timeframe from about the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. Important examples by artists like Petri, Gentilz, Onderdonk, Reaugh, Eisenlohr, Travis, Bywaters, Spruce, Dozier, Lester, Mozley, and many others will be on display. This will truly be a rare opportunity to see so many stellar examples of early Texas art at one time. As an added benefit, Mr. Albritton will make some opening remarks regarding his collection that will provide some context and background to the artwork on display. All Symposium attendees are encouraged to make plans to attend this special event.
$20 for CASETA members
$30 for non-members
Wine and hors d'oeuvres included
Note: Symposium Registration Required |
| NEWS | | |
McARDLE PAINTING
A 1901 painting by H.A. McArdle depicting the Battle of San Jacinto was found in the attic of a Weston, West Virginia home. Jon Buell, the artist's great, great grandson, contacted Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, where the piece sold on November 20, 2010, to Mr. Kyle Stallings of Midland, Texas. The new owners welcomes contact regarding research or possible exhibition. A McArdle mural of the same subject, completed in 1898, hangs in the Senate chamber of the Texas Capitol in Austin. Another McArdle mural, Dawn at the Alamo, also hangs in the Senate chamber, while The Settlement of Austin's Colony is on display in the chamber of the Texas House of Representatives.
CASETA/TEXAS HISTORICAL FOUNDATION COLLABORATION
CASETA is thrilled to announce a collaboration with the Texas Historical Foundation (THF) on a special Texas Art edition of Heritage magazine for March 2011. Heritage, a quarterly illustrated magazine, focuses on the preservation of Texas history, artifacts, and culture. The special issue will feature articles and commentary by CASETA Board members and supporters, including Stephen Alton, Scott Barker, Francine Carraro, Jack Davis, and Tam Kiehnhoff. Gene Krane, THF Executive Director and Heritage Editor, and CASETA Board Member Katie Robinson Edwards are overseeing the project. THF has generously offered to fund publications and mailing costs, which will include copies of the Texas Art issue for all CASETA members and April 2011 conference attendees. The issue will showcase CASETA and Early Texas Art to THF's 1000+ members. It will also be distributed to the 400 rooms of the historic Adolphous Hotel in Dallas. |
| BOARD FEATURES | | |
 Board Officer/Vice Chair of Board - Francine Carraro
Francine Carraro is the Executive Director of The Grace Museum in Abilene, a position she assumed in September 2008. She brings a wealth of experience to that position and to her role as a CASETA board member. Previous professional posts include Executive Director of the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and professor of art (tenured) in the Department of Art at Texas State University, San Marcos. An active professional, she was a founding member of The Maine Bold Coast Museum Association, 2006-2008; President, Museums West, 2004 - 2006; and Board Member at Large, Mountain Plains Museum Association (MPMA), 2004 - 2006. Currently, she also serves as a Peer Reviewer for the Accreditation Visiting Committee for the American Association of Museums (AAM) and as a member of the MPMA Board. Her scholarly work includes books, articles, and curating a number of exhibitions related to American art and art in Texas. Texas art and artists have been the focus of her work. She is the author of Jerry Bywaters: A Life in Art (1994) published by the University of Texas Press, as well as other publications about Jerry Bywaters and Texas printmakers. In 2008, she presented "It was a New Deal When the Texas Scene was the American Scene" at the annual CASETA symposium.
Dr. Carraro, who values her Texas roots, returned to her native Texas in 2008. A fifth generation Texan, she was born and reared in Borger, Texas. A fine arts graduate of Hendrix College, she received her graduate education at Southern Methodist University (M.F.A.) and the University of Texas (Ph.D.). She is happy to be in Abilene and at the Grace Museum. She feels that her role as a museum professional, her mission as an educator, and her scholarship are enhanced in her position at the Grace Museum. Additionally, she enjoys being near family, long-time friends, and colleagues.
With regard to CASETA, Dr. Carraro states: "As a museum professional, I value CASETA as an association that provides rich opportunities for the collectors, scholars and students of Texas art to exchange and explore ideas. CASETA's annual symposium is outstanding, providing a great forum for discussions, education, networking, and fun. I am dedicated to the success of CASETA, and I am pleased to serve as a Board member to assist and promote the good work of CASETA."
New Board Member - Randy Tibbits
 Randy Tibbits, though not a Texan by birth due to a quirk of army life, grew up in Lubbock and has lived in Houston for almost 30 years. Fortunately, his deep Texas family roots seem to have redeemed him from that foreign birth (in Oklahoma) and to have predisposed him to a love of Early Texas Art.
In his real-world life - the one that doesn't revolve entirely around Early Texas Art, Randy is a librarian. He worked in the corporate sector for awhile at Shell Oil Company and is now at Rice University where he has been for many years and where he's in charge of the Interlibrary Loan Department.
Randy has degrees in history from Washington University in Saint Louis and in Library Science from The University of Texas, Austin. The history background has been invaluable to him in his ongoing quest to find out every single fact about Early Houston Art - a quest which will never be finished since the subject is inexhaustible, thank goodness. One of Randy's great delights in life is reading other people's mail - especially when it's that of Emma Richardson Cherry, Ola McNeill Davidson, Gene Charlton, and a host of other Houston artists he'll never meet though he lives with them every day.
Randy was one of the founding members of the Houston Earlier Texas Art Group (HETAG), and has served as HETAG program coordinator since its inception in 2002. He has attended every CASTEA Symposium and has been on the program at several.
For Randy, with the support of his husband Rick Bebermeyer, Early Texas Art - especially that of Houston - has been a passion since he and Rick bought an "innocent-looking" little Olive Brack painting back in 1999. Neither of them had any idea then where it would lead, but they're both very pleased that it has led to a house full of art, the chance to know and work with lots and lots of fun and equally passionate ETA enthusiasts around the State, and now the opportunity to make a contribution to the ongoing work of CASETA.
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| MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS | | |
Central Texas
Porfiro Salinas: Painting South Texas
October 16, 2010 - March 20, 2011
Witte Museum
3801 Broadway Street
San Antonio
The exhibition celebrates the 100th birthday of the Texas landscape painter Salinas, an artist so proficient at Texas flora that Robert Wood would pay him $5 per canvas to paint bluebonnets in Wood's landscapes.
For more information: www.wittemuseum.org
Colors on Clay: Pottery of San Antonio
January 28 - March 27, 2011
Mexic-Arte Museum
419 Congress Ave.
Austin
The exhibition features a selection of brightly colored ceramic artwork decorated to reflect the imagery of Mexico and South Texas with depictions of every day culture and cowboy life. Generically referred to as "San Jose tiles," the works were locally produced by small groups of artisans working in a succesesion of three workshops including Mexican Arts and Crafts, San Jose Potteries and Mission Crafts from 1931 to 1971. A highlight of the exhibit is the artwork of Fernando Ramos, the principal artist for the first workshop, Mexican Arts and Crafts.
For more information: www.mexic-artemuseum.org
UMLAUF: The Next Generation
October 29, 2010 - January 23, 2011
Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum
605 Robert E. Lee Road
Austin
The exhibition features the works of Umlauf's children Karl, Madelyn, Lynn, and Arthur.
For more information: www.umlaufsculpture.org
South Texas
Alexandre Hogue: An American Visionary
January 14 - April 3, 2011
Opening Reception: 6 - 7:30pm, Thursday, January 13
Art Museum of South Texas
1902 North Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi
The exhibition is comprised of 157 oil paintings, drawings and field sketches by Hogue who painted until the age of 96, but never had a major exhibition in his lifetime. The works are on loan from 63 collectors, institutions and museums throughout the country.
For more information: www.stia.org
Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas Art: Cross Currents and Influences
January 22 - April 3, 2011
Opening Reception: 6-8pm, Friday, January 21
Art Museum of Southeast Texas
500 Main Street
Beaumont
The exhibit examines and addresses the strong artistic, stylistic, and geographic connections and influences that prevailed between artists' work produced in Southeast Texas and the important early Texas artists working around the state from 1925 to 1965. It will feature a wide array of paintings, drawings, and sculptures borrowed from collectors and from the museum's permanent collection
Edward G. Eisenlohr: Painting Across the Texas Landscape
January 22 - April 3, 2011
Opening Reception: 6-8pm, Friday, January 21
Art Musuem of Southeast Texas
500 Main Street
Beaumont
This exhibition features 15 paintings by renowned early Texas artist Edward G. Eisenlohr on loan from a private collection. Eisenlohr produced more drawings and paintings of his local Dallas community and region than any other early Dallas artist and is considered one of the pioneer landscape painters of Texas. The paintings identify Eisenlohr's stylistic evolution, as well as his diverse visual exploration of the pastoral Texas landscape. These locations include areas surrounding his Dallas home, Austin, the Hill Country, and Galveston.
For more information: www.amset.org
West Texas
Ten in '10
September 18, 2010 - January 30, 2011
Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, Foran Gallery
2503 4th Avenue
Canyon
The exhibition honors ten distinguished artists and art teachers associated with West Texas A&M University including Adele Brunet, H. D. Bugbee, Emilio Caballero, Clarence Kincaid Jr., Marilyn Miller Kincheloe, Amy Jackson, A.W. Mack, Alice Welty Nichols, Don Ray, Grant Reynard, Isabel Robinson, and Olive Vandruff.
For more information: www.panhandleplains.org
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GALLERY EXHIBITIONS | | |
North Texas
L.O. Griffith: Painting the Texas Landscape
January 10 - February 5
Reception: Saturday, January 15, 6-8:30pm
Valley House Gallery
6616 Spring Valley Road
Dallas
Southeast Texas McKie Trotter January 14 - February 5 William Reaves Fine Art 2313 Brun Street Houston
McKie Trotter (1918-1999) was a staple post-war Fort Worth artist, whose cubist and abstract expressionist paintings established him not only in the Texas art community, but also landed him in New York galleries and prestigious cultural institutions such as the Guggenheim. This exhibition focuses on Trotter's transition from his 1950's cubist work into a fully-developed abstract expressionist mode which often depicted the Texas landscape. |
| OTHER | | |
Upcoming Auction
January 29
4pm
Dallas Auction Gallery
2235 Monitor Street
The Auction of Texas and Western fine art presented by Dallas Fine Art Auction, David Dike Fine Art, and Debbie Leeuw Fine Art will feature 9 Frank Reaugh pastels on paper from the collection of the late Dr. Edmund Pillsbury.
Lunch Among the Master Curators Talk by Susie Kalil,
Guest Curator and Author of Alexandre Hogue: An American Visionary, Paintings and Works on Paper. Hogue's daughter, Olivia Hogue Marino, will provide insights into the personal aspects of Hogue's work.
Friday, February 14
Art Musuem of South Texas
1902 North Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi
$15 for members; $18 for non-members
RSVP requested to 361.825.3504
Reading and Book-Signing by Susan Toomey Frost for Colors on Clay: The San Jose Tile Workshops of San Antonio, Trinity University Press
February (Date TBD; contact Museum for more information)
Susan Toomey Frost is the leading authority on San Jose decorative art tiles and pottery produced by workshops in San Antonio and Mexico. She has taught English and linguistics at universities in Mexico and Texas. An avid collector, she has written articles, given lectures, and curated exhibitions, and she is the winner of the Ron Tyler Award given by the Texas State Historical Association as the best book published in 2009 on Texas history and culture.
Mexic-Arte Musuem
419 Congress
Austin
Panel Discussion with Susan Toomey Frost and Sherry Kafka Wagner on the subject of the commercialization and production of artworks through the Arts and Crafts Division of the Work Projects Administration in Texas
March (Date TBD: contact Musueum for more information)
Mexic-Arte Museum
419 Congress
Austin |
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William Henry Huddle: An Overview of His Career
by Skipper Steely | | |
William Henry Huddle left his home near Wytheville, Virginia after the Civil War to spend time studying art in Lynchburg with his cousin Flavius J. Fisher. Then, in 1868, Huddle traveled to Paris, Texas, to join relatives and friends. Here he met George Washington Wright who had come to the area from Carthage, Tennessee in 1816.
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George W. Wright
Painted in Paris, Texas; Originally Hung in the Bettie Wright Brazelton Home; Now Hangs in the Texas Legislative Reference Library, Room 2N.3
[Photo by Grandson David Steely]
Courtesy of the State Preservation Board, Austin, Texas |
Meeting Wright, from whom he learned much about the historical chronology of Texas, happened at a time when Huddle was fighting the urge to become a fulltime artist. He learned the historical chronology of Texas from Wright who gave him first- and second-hand accounts of Indian raids, the Alamo, Goliad, and the Battle of San Jacinto.
Fascinated with Wright's stories, Huddle began to sketch. His sketches led to a portrait of Wright himself, portraits of Wright's family members and others important to Texas history, and paintings of important historical events. Huddle could not have been more enthused about the potential of art as his life's work. He was ready to abandon his father's goldsmith and gunsmith shop, and do more painting. In fact, if he could paint old-timers for money, he could perhaps make a living at his passion. Wright pointed out local persons who would pay, as well as what was historically important.
The portrait of Wright, which hangs in the Texas Legislative Reference Library at the Texas State Capitol, was of the old man and his long beard, sitting in a high-back chair. He was dressed in a suit and held his favorite cane in his right hand. On his left hand, he wore a ring. To his left, Huddle painted a table, laying on it a quill pen and ink well, a book, and some envelopes.
As Huddle worked, the pioneer talked. Wright wasn't physically there for each event he discussed, but he had been continually apprised by participants about them. Even after the sitting, Wright spent hours with Huddle recounting the moments he remembered. Huddle eventually created a gift for the pioneer and his family. It was a cane with history written in sections, in a time-line order from 1816 to 1875. Each section told of that year's major historical event.
Huddle did a number of portraits while in Paris. These included a family member of Wright's - cousin, John Fowler - as well as two men - Lem Williams (and his wife, Emily) and Colonel Bill Johnson - who were with him at the 1861 Secession Convention. Along with Wright, they were among only eight who voted "no". Huddle also did portraits of Sam Long, Pinkney Martin Price, the W.B. Aikins, the Benjamin J. Baldwins, and Anna Cora Brooks. Most of these were done for about $50.
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W.B. and Araminta Aikin
Portraits Hang in Lamar County Historical Musuem |
By the Fall of 1874, Huddle was in New York. After his study there at both the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League, he returned to Texas and lived briefly in Lamar County before moving to Austin in late 1876. While on a trip to Austin, he fell in love with its hills and its atmosphere. He registered his studio at the Cook Building, and his residence as the Curtis House. He traveled back to Paris occasionally to paint local residents, earning some extra income.
Huddle's work continues to be admired and viewed by many today, even though he was unable to produce a large quantity of work due to his early death at age 45 in 1892. Thirty-one of his paintings hang in the Texas Capitol, including The Surrender of Santa Anna and the portraits of Wright, David Crockett, and Sam Houston. Two of the Huddle works returned to Paris in 2007 when descendents of the Aikin family donated the portraits of W.B. and Araminta Aikin to the Lamar County Historical Museum. The only other Huddles in Paris usually hang in the Sam Bell Maxey Home. The portraits of Lem and Emily Williams are in storage during 2011 while that museum is undergoing restoration. Other works include eight Huddles in the Dallas Museum of Art; three which will eventually hang again in the restored Governor's Mansion; two in the Regents meeting room at the University of Texas; several at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin; one at the Austin Driskill Hotel; and a few in private hands and in an Austin church. |
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NEW RESOURCES FOR THE COLLECTOR AND THE RESEARCHER | | |
Southern Methodist University (SMU)
The Central University Libraries (CLU) at Southern Methodist University (SMU) have announced the addition of several digital collections pertaining to the topics of Texas art and history. These collections are freely-accessible online resources.
Texas Artists: Paintings, Sculpture, and Works on Paper
The first priority of the project is to present as many works as possible within the collection. In addition, they hope to be able to contextualize and link synergies between artists, artworks, and related resources.
The artists represented are:
- Bowling, Charles T. (Charles Taylor), 1981-1985
- Bywaters, Jerry W. (Gerald Williamson), 1906-1989
- Eisenlohr, Edward G. (Edward Gustav), 1872-1961
- Elrod, Jeff, 1966-
- Flood, Mark, 1957-
- Judd, DeForrest H. (DeForrest Hale), 1916-1992
- Little Jerry [Jerry Bywaters' daughter]
- Mauzey, Merritt, 1989-1973
- McClung, Florence E., 1894-1992
- Sanders, Ruth John
- Spellman, Coreen M. (Coreen Mary), 1905-1978
- Spruce, Everett F. (Everett Franklin), 1908-2002
- Turner Janet E. (Janet Elizabeth), 1914-1988
- Wueste, Louisa H. (Louisa Heuser), 1805-1874
Other resources available are:
Lawrence T. Johes III Texas Photographs
Otis Dozier Sketchbooks
John N. Rowe III Collection of Texas Currency
Texas A&M University Press
Alexander Hogue: An American Visionary, Paintings and Works on Paper by Susie Kalil
University of North Texas Press
Walls that Speak: The Murals of John Thomas Biggers by Olive Jensen Theisen
Dallas Historical Society
A Texas Journey: The Centennial Photographs of Polly Smith by Evelyn Barker |
| CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR AWARDS | |
CASETA gives a number of awards annually. All members are encouraged to make nominations for the following awards: Lifetime Achievement Award, Distinguished Service within the Organization, Distinguished Service outside the Organization, and the Research Award. Members are also encouraged to make nominations for the Outstanding Exhibition and Outstanding Publication Awards. More information about each Award and criteria for selection may be obtained here.
Nominations should be made to Judy Youngblood, Chair of the Awards Committee at jyoungbd@flash.net |
| CALL FOR ART | | |
Museum of the Big Bend, Alpine
The Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University, Alpine, is in the process of assembling works by artists (see list) who taught in the Art Department and the summer Art Colony at Sul Ross State University from 1921-1950. The planned retrospective will focus on their works created while teaching and living in the Big Bend region of Texas. The show will premiere in the Spring of 2011 in Dallas at David Dike Fine Art before coming to the museum. Due to the small gallery space at David Dike's and transportation costs, works from loaning institutions and collections will be on display at the Museum of the Big Bend only. In addition, a catalog of representative works will be produced in partnership with David Dike.
The Museum has some of these artists' works in its collection, but is actively seeking additional works held in both private and public collections. If you have works that you would consider lending for this exhibit, please contact Mary Bones, Senior Curator and Registrar at maryb@sulross.edu or by phone at 432-837-8734 for more information. She would love to hear from you.
UNT on the Square, Denton
The Institute for the Advancement of the Arts (IAA) and the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts (NTIEVA) at the University of North Texas (UNT) are in the process of planning an exhibition of work produced by members of the UNT art faculty between 1890 and 1970 (see list). The purpose of the exhibition is to present a visual survey and historical record of the many accomplished and important artist-educators whose careers included service at UNT during this time. No such exhibition has ever been undertaken. The project will afford the opportunity to retrieve and witness a significant element of our regional artistic heritage, as well as to better understand the foundation of the nationally-known visual arts programs at UNT. While some works by these artists have been identified, IAA and NTIEVA are actively seeking additional works. If you have works by any of these artists that you would consider lending for this exhibition, please contact Herbert Holl, Director of the IAA (Herbert.Holl@unt.edu or 940-369-8257), or D. Jack Davis, Director of NTIEVA (davis@unt.edu or (940-565-3954). The exhibition, scheduled for November 2011 - January 2012, will be at UNT on the Square in Denton. |
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EARLY TEXAS ART TRIVIA | | |
Answer to the November ETA Trivia Question: Fannie Florian (1854 - ?) painted the image; her teacher was Theodore Gentilz.
Florian was the daughter of Erasmus A. Florian (1820-1876), a Polish exile, who came to San Antonio, arriving in the early 1850s. He opened San Antonio's first insurance agency in 1852. He purchased a house built by cabinetmaker Samuel W. McAllister in La Villita. In 1876 E.A. Florian died, leaving his agency to his eldest daughter, Fannie H. Florian. When Fannie took over in 1876, she became the first woman not only in Texas, but in the country, to be commissioned in the insurance business. She ran the business for 13 years, until she married and turned it over to her brothers who, in turn, sold it a few years later. Florian's company is still in existence today, doing business as Wray & Westheimer Agency.
Theodore Gentilz taught art for many years at St. Mary's College in San Antonio, as well as in his home. It is unclear whether Ms. Florian studied with him as a student at St. Mary's or privately in his home. As the daughter of a prominent San Antonio family, either was a possibility. The image, painted in 1874 when she was 19 years old, is the sole, known example of a work by Fannie Florian.
While no correct answer was received, we appreciate all of you who sent responses. Keep this "gaming spirit" going, and try to answer the following ETA Trivia Question.
Who was Alexandre Hogue's first art teacher?
Respond to the editors at davis@unt.edu. The first person to provide the correct answers will receive a free publication from CASETA. |
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