Collection Selections

June 4 - September 11, 2011 

Austin Museum of Art

823 Congress Avenue at 9th Street

Austin, Texas

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Austin Museum of Art (AMOA) is exhibiting work by artists who have exhibited there over the last 50 years, including such Texas artists as Michael Frary, Charles Mary Kubricht, and Charles Umlauf.

Works of Early Texas Art from the Permanent Collection

July - August 2011

San Antonio Art League Museum

130 King William Street

San Antonio, Texas 76204

The museum exhibits works from its permanent collections twice each year.  The next exhibit will be in July and August.

For more information: www.saalm.org/site.html

North Texas

Frank Reaugh: Master of Pastels and the Plains of Texas

July 7 - October 1, 2011

UNT on the Square

109 N. Elm Street

Denton, Texas 76201

This exhibition contains impressive work of Frank Reaugh from the prestigious collections of Torch Energy, the Harry Ransom Center, the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, Texas Tech University, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

For more information: http://untonthesquare.unt.edu

Looking for the Lone Star

July 8 - 29, 2011

Fort Worth Community Arts Center

1300 Gendy Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76107

The exhibit draws from private collections in Fort Worth and Tarrant County, with selections made by the owner of each collection.  Forty-six examples of early Texas art produced in Fort Worth and around the state are included.

Southeast Texas

Culture in Frontier Texas

April 19 - September 4, 2011

The Heritage Society

1100 Bagby Street

Houston, Texas

NOTE: Visitors should park in the paved lot directly behind the historic Kellum-Noble House; Enter the lot via Allen Parkway inbound.

The Heritage Society will display objects - furniture, silver, pottery, paintings, textiles, etc. - from its permanent collection and from local private collections in celebration of the rich, diverse culture of frontier Texas.

Texas cabinet makers of the mid-19th century were able to carve a niche for themselves in early Texas settlements when there were no factories for the mass production of goods.  Other trades people (e.g., carpenters, blacksmiths, potters, and painters) were also called upon to produce items needed by the community.  Local symbolism often ornamented their work, connecting the cultural identity of Texas.

West Texas

The Lost Colony: Texas Regionalist Paintings

September 9, 2011 - January 29, 2012

Museum of the Big Bend

Sul Ross State University

Alpine, Texas 79832

This exhibition is the first known to recognize and celebrate the members from the Alpine Art Colony.  In 1932, Julius Woeltz and Xavier Gonzalez founded an art colony at Sul Ross State University that ran for six weeks each summer.  The colony was open to both Sul Ross students and other interested in art.  The group was active in the Big Bend area and up to the Davis Mountains - a highlight for both students and faculty.  At the end of each summer session, they promoted their work with an exhibition on the university campus.  Attendees were also given certificates that noted the quality and quantity of work produced during the course.  The Alpine Art Colony is the longest running art Colony in Texas history.  William Lester conduced the final session in the summer of 1950.

Gene Owens - A Fresh Approach

September 22 - February 3, 2013

Old Jail Art Center

201 S. 2nd

Albany, Texas 76430

If any artist truly merits the description of "master of the medium of sculpture" or even "living legend", it would be Fort Worth native Gene Owens.  The Old Jail Art Center will present unexplored aspects of Owens' oeuvre - bringing new insights into the work of this versatile artist.

For more information: www.theoldjailartcenter.org

Texas Gallery

Permanent Exhibition

Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, Texas Gallery

2503 4th Avenue

Canyon, Texas 79015

Art is exhibited on a rotating basis in the permanent gallery devoed to Texas art.  Texas regonalists such as Kathleen Blackshear, Jerry Bywaters, Otis Dozier, Russell Vernon Hunter, Grace Spaulding John, William Lester, Florence McClung, Octavio Medellin, and Everett Sprice complement early Texas artists Jose Arpa, Hermann Lungkwitz, Richard Petri, Elisabet Ney, S. Seymour Thomas, Edward G. Eisenlohr, and Robert and Julian Onderdonk.

For more information: http://panhandleplains.org

Tom Lea: The Turning Point

August 7, 2011 - January 8, 2012

El Paso Museum of Art

1 Arts Festival Plaza

El Paso, Texas 79901

Tom Lea: The Turning Point includes six preparatory drawings for the 1964 oil-on-canvas painting The Turning Point, as well as the actual painting.  Lea was commissioned to capture the final play of a game played by the 1966 football team of Texas Western College in El Paso (now the University of Texas at El Paso).  This game marked a pivotal point in the season for Texas Western College, as it had won four and lost three games.  In this game against Utah, they won by scoring in the last second of the fourth quarter.

For more information: www.elpasoartmuseum.org

Alexandre Hogue: An American Visionary, Paintings and Works on Paper

May 5 - August 20, 2011

Grace Musuem, Main Gallery and 2nd Floor

102 Cypress Street

Abilene, Texas 79601

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 exhbition in his lifetime.  The works are on loan from 63 collectors, institutions and musuems throughout the country.

For more information: www.thegracemuseum.org

Texas Paintings from the Schoen Collection

May 5 - August 20, 2011

Grace Museum, Atrium Gallery

102 Cypress Street

Abilene, Texas 79601

This exhibit will include paintings by Texas artists created between 1935 and 1943.  These paintings are on loan from the Schoen Collection, a significant collection of American art of the 1930s and 1940s.

For more information: www.thegracemuseum.org

Zanne Hochberg - The Art of Our Age

September 9 - November 6, 2011

San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

1 Love Street

San Angelo, Texas 76903

A pioneering Texas artist, Zanne Hochberg was one of the first women to graduate from Southern Methodist University with a MFA.  A painter from the 1950s through the 80s, she was influenced by the abstract expressionist painters of that period and became one of Dallas' most respected and prolific artists.  A masterful painter, she was one of the few abstract expressionists working in Texas during that time.

For more information: www.samfa.org

Two workshops for teachers, focusing on early Wichita Falls area artists, were held at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art, Midwestern State University in June. The workshop was designed to introduce the teachers to the area of early Texas art and specifically to a unit of instruction, "Documenting Life, Land, and Culture," designed by three doctoral students - Jennifer Hartman, Cindy Hasio, and Liz Langdon - and Dr. D. Jack Davis from the University of North Texas (UNT).  Research done in preparation for the development of the unit revealed the names of more than 65 artists who worked, prior to 1970, in the region which covered roughly a 75-mile radius around Wichita Falls. The work of 15 of these artists was used in constructing the curriculum which was aimed at increasing students' understanding of the area by looking through the lens of the artists as they found their own self-expression.

Dr. Francine Carraro, Executive Director of the Grace Museum in Abilene, began each of the one-day workshops with an introduction and overview of early Texas art. She provided an historical overview, placing work by early Texas artists within the context of its cultural and social history. Dr. James Laney, Professor of Teacher Education and Administration at UNT, followed with a presentation on curriculum integration.  A specialist in social studies, he connected art education to citizenship education, engaging the teachers in "hands-on" activities which demonstrated how art could be integrated into the total fabric of the curriculum.

The afternoon session, conducted by the three graduate students, provided the teachers with an overview of the curriculum unit as well as opportunities to engage in some of the learning activities included in the unit. Wichita Falls area artists included in the unit were watercolorists Polly Hoffman and Polly Cox (mother and daughter); Electra Waggoner Biggs, Vernon sculptor; Emil Hermann, Wichita Falls painter and muralist; and J.B. "Jack" Erwin, Jacksboro painter. In addition to published materials, artists were identified by the UNT team by examining archival material at the Wichita Falls Art Association and Midwestern State University and interviewing community members.

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.

Answer to May Trivia Question

What early Texas artist served as President of the Board of Trustees at Incarnate Word College in San Antonio?

Answer: Amy Freeman Lee

Carl McQueary correctly answered the May Trivia Question.  Congratulations, Carl! 

Respond to the editors at davis@unt.edu.  The first person to provide the correct answer will receive a free publication from CASETA.