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In This Issue
Chair's Comments
Executive Director's Comments
12th Symposium & Art Fair
Feature
Research Requests
Notes from your CASETA Staff
ETA Exhibitions & Events & Items of Interest
Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
CASETA Membership
Membership Levels:
Student/Educator: $25
(requires verification)
Individual: $50
Institutional: $150

Donor Levels 
Contributor: $250
Benefactor: $500

   Patron: $1,000
Investor: $2500
                  & above 

Contact Information
Board Chair

Tam Kiehnhoff 
[email protected]

Executive Director

Howard Taylor [email protected]
 
Administrator
 
Valerie C. Bluthardt
[email protected]  
 

CASETA Headquarters

PO Box 3726 

San Angelo TX 76902
Phone: 325.653.3333 

CASETA Fun Facts & Fundamentals!

CASETA 
Mission Statement

  The mission of the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art is to promote the preservation, study and appreciation of Texas visual arts and its history. Read more about our mission.

 

Early Texas Art

 

Art produced by artists who were born in and/or lived and worked in Texas through 40 years prior to the present date. 

   ___________________ 

   
Since the first CASETA symposium in 2003, over 1200 people, from graduate students, academics, and collectors have wandered the convention sites, enriching their mind as they learn more about Texas art and CASETA itself. 

 

 ___________________

 

The range of speakers over the past ten years, totaling approximately seventy since this event's inception, has included notable historians, curators, collectors, dealers, and professors. Although most are from Texas, some travel from places as far away as New York City and Maine. Some represent themselves, while others work with prestigious institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, City University of New York, the University of North Texas and the Dallas Museum of Art, to name a few. 
___________________

 

On January 18, 2003, CASETA sponsored a lecture entitled The Altars and Facades of the San Antonio Missions, given by Dr. Jacinto Quirarte at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.

 

__________________

 

Through the archival project, CASETA has partnered with sixteen institutions willing to receive these archival materials including:

 

*Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

 

* C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department, University Library, University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)

 

* Cushing Memorial Library, Texas A&M University

 

* Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin

 

* Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

 

* University of North Texas

 

* Jerry Bywaters Special Collections Wing, Southern Methodist University

 

* Tyler Museum of Fine Arts

 

* The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

 

* Old Jail Art Center

 

* Rosenberg Library

 

* San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

 

* San Antonio Public Library

 

* South Texas Institute for the Arts

 

* Southwest Collection Collections Libraries, Texas Tech University

 

* Witte Museum

 

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Through a grant from the Texas Education Agency, CASETA sponsored four workshops for teachers to introduce them to Early Texas Art and worked alongside NTIEVA.

 

In total, seventy-two educators participated in these workshops. Each participant was given an orientation to the units as well as received a copy of each unit along with support material that included exhibition catalogs and CDs about Early Texas Art. These programs and materials were meant to enrich the classroom experience and further the knowledge of Early Texas Art.

  

___________________

 

CASETA has been the recipient of several prestigious grants over its lifetime,

which allows it to participate in numerous activities. To date, CASETA has received over $200,000 from several prestigious organizations. This money has been used and re-granted for various publications, lectures, the symposia, and workshops throughout the state.

 

___________________

 

************ 

 

Congratulations to all of the 2013 CASETA award winners!

 

Outstanding Exhibition

Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885 - 1935

-

-Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

-The Grace Museum

- Tyler Museum of Art

 -The Witte Museum

-Art Museum of

Southeast Texas

 

Outstanding Publication

Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885 - 1935

-Michael R. Grauer

-Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

 

Lifetime Achievement

-Bill Cheek

 

 
NEWSLETTER
February  2014
CHAIR'S COMMENTS
Tam Kiehnhoff 

 

        CASETA LOOKS FORWARD
   TO SPRING SYMPOSIUM
AND ART FAIR 
  

Greetings  Fellow CASETA Members,

 

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I write this first note to you as incoming Chair of the CASETA Board of Directors. As an avid collector of Early Texas Art and a member of the CASETA Board of Directors since 2007, I am pleased and honored to serve as board chair.  I am also mindful of the shoes I am stepping into as one of our founders, Bill Reaves, moves on from the daunting dual roles of Interim Chair and Director that he has so capably filled for the past 2 years.  To say that we are all grateful to Bill and his staff for the fine job they did in steering CASETA through this turning point in its history is an understatement.  I am delighted to add that our slate of officers is rounded out by capable and experienced officers from the past term: George Palmer, Vice Chair; David Spradling, Secretary; and Mark Kever, Treasurer.

  

I am also happy to be working closely to establish a successful collaboration with the staff at San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts.  They are presently busy making arrangements for this year's symposium on May 2-4 in Austin at St. Edward's University.  Please take a minute to read a brief summary of what this year's exciting program has to offer in this newsletter and then check our website regularly to watch for updates as more information becomes available.

   

Each Spring at our annual symposium, CASETA recognizes individuals or institutions that have made significant contributions to the advancement or study of early Texas art in the previous calendar year.  With these awards we honor recent work in the field and hope to encourage future education, scholarship and support for our mission of promoting and preserving early Texas art.  In a given year we may present awards in all or some of the categories.  Because we are a statewide organization with statewide membership, and because Texas is a big place, there will inevitably be exhibitions, publications and activities of which we are unaware.  Please take a moment to read about our awards on our website. If you know of a person or an institution that you feel deserves to be honored for achievements over a lifetime or during 2013, please send your nominations to [email protected].  We hope that both individual members and our institutional partners, including museums, will take a moment to consider, review and nominate.  Thanks for your interest!  


As part of our desire to expand knowledge in the area of Early Texas Art as well as a wish to responsibly manage the limited resources that most non-profits today possess, we plan to collaborate in new ways that are creative and productive for all concerned.  With that in mind, I am excited to announce that for the upcoming year CASETA will join forces with the Texas Historical Foundation to include an article about ETA in each of the 2014 issues of Texas Heritage Magazine.  Many of you may remember that we worked together with the Foundation in 2011 to produce a special issue of the magazine devoted to ETA.  We are looking forward to this new idea for the continuation of such a successful joint enterprise. 

 

You may also have noticed that we partnered with Texas A & M Press during December and January in order to offer our members special discounts on the Press's fine publications on ETA.  We feel that this was a win-win for both organizations as it spread the word (with excellent prices) about these beautiful books and will also hopefully encourage the publication of titles such as these in the future.

   

I hope you take note in this issue of the CASETA newsletter that we have a feature article on artist Dawson Dawson-Watson.  We appreciate the Dawson-Watson family not only for writing the article and sharing some wonderful family photographs, but telling us about a project the family is embarking on with Dawson-Watson's work.    

   

Finally, as we move forward we hope to revisit some of CASETA's important programs and activities of former years while at the same time identify new initiatives to energize CASETA's future.  With that in mind, the board plans to meet jointly with CASETA's Long Range Planning and Development Committee in San Angelo in March to discuss where we hope to put our energies and focus over the next two to three years.  We would like to hear from you, our past, present and future members, as we have this discussion.  Please send us any thoughts you have for improving CASETA's current activities and/or expanding on its future activities.  Be forewarned, we will also want practical and specific ideas about how to accomplish the goals we select and put forward. 


I want to close with a warm invitation to every one of you to join us in Austin in the spring for CASETA's 12th Annual Symposium and Texas Art Fair. I look forward to seeing you there!

                                                                                Tam Kiehnhoff 
                                                                                               Chair 

 
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS
Howard Taylor
Howard Taylor  

  SEEING TWO SIDES OF CASETA 

  

I served on the board of directors of CASETA for eight years starting in its first year in 2003. From the beginning I recognized the important role CASETA could play in helping to create a greater

understanding and appreciation of the rich visual arts heritage of Texas. Over time, and substantially because of the efforts of CASETA, I saw a dramatic increase in interest in this subject. Today there is a large and growing number of passionate collectors of Early Texas Art, increasing scholarship and numerous and regular museum exhibitions.

 

I am now in a different role with CASETA, no longer serving as an elected board member,but rather as the executive director. As a board member I was actively involved in various projects and observed that the board was comprised of a group of devoted individuals. In my new role I have become aware of every aspect of the organization down to the smallest details. There is an enormous amount of effort that goes into creating the programs and activities of this wonderful organization. I appreciate more fully the very deep devotion and hard work of the people who serve on our board.

 

 A major undertaking is the annual symposium presented each spring. There is a vast amount of logistical work that goes into making this a success. This includes such things as finding an appropriate location, planning meals, arranging tours and social functions, setting up the exhibition hall and working with exhibitors, making arrangements with speakers and developing the appropriate marketing and printed materials. The most challenging aspect is creating a compelling program.

 

This year's symposium will take place May 2nd through 4th on the campus of St. Edward's University in Austin. It will be a wonderful event featuring informed and dynamic speakers addressing a wide range of topics of great value for all who are interested in early Texas art. Leading art dealers will be exhibiting important works in an exhibition space conveniently adjacent to the symposium meeting space. There will also be  behind-the-scenes tours  of  significant Austin collections. The enthusiastic and congenial administration, faculty and students of St. Edward's University have made every effort to make our time on their beautiful campus a pleasant one.

 

 I hope that you will be able to join us for this delightful weekend. If you do, be sure to tell the CASETA board members, under the leadership of Chair Tam Kiehnhoff, and with the support of our administrator Valerie Bluthardt, how much you appreciate the wonderful work they have done and share with them your thoughts for future programs. Whether you are a collector, art dealer, scholar, museum director, student or a person interested in our state's artistic heritage we are fortunate to be able to come together under the banner of CASETA as we continue to explore this fascinating subject.

   

Sincerely,

 

Howard Taylor

Executive Director  

CASETA  

and 

Director

San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

 

 

 

 

Save the Date
   12th Annual Symposium and Texas Art Fair

CASETA
 Announces
The 12th Annual Symposium  
and Texas Art Fair
St. Edward's University Ragsdale Center 
May 2-4, 2014
Austin, Texas   

SAVE THE DATES & MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND!

 

More information below!  

 

Go to our website for detailed information and on-line registration 

 

Austin's Colony
Settlement of Austin's Colony
oil on canvas
Henry Arthur McArdle
1875
Courtesy Texas State Preservation Board, Capitol Historical Artifact Collection, Austin
CASETA is preparing for the organization's biggest event of the year so make plans to attend the 12th Annual Symposium and Texas Art Fair in our capital city of Austin. All events will take place at St.
Edward's University Ragsdale Center on May 2 - 4, 2014.  
The symposium committee has put together a wonderful array of speakers and special events including Early Texas Art and modernist Texas art.

Symposium Speakers

The 2014 CASETA Symposium on Early Texas Art features the following exciting speakers and panelists on early Texas art: 

  • Ali James - Curator of the Capitol since 2001 and an expert on the Capitol's priceless art collection and historic structures(Topic: Early Texas Art at the State Capitol
  • Katie Robinson Edwards - Curator at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum in Austin and author of the forthcoming book, Midcentury Modern Art in Texas (Topic: Texas Modernism)
  • Sarah Foltz - Gallery Director at William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, an accredited appraiser with extensive background in the arts of the Southwestern United States and Texas (Topic: WPA Texas Photography)
  • Conservators Panel - Cheryl A. Carrabba (Carrabba Austin); Mark E. van Gelder (Art Conservation Services of Austin); Catherine Williams (Silver Lining Art Conservation, Austin); moderated by William Reaves
  • Victoria H. Cummins - Professor of History at Austin College in Sherman, Texas specializing in women's history and Texas regional art including murals from the 1920s-1950s (Topic: Prejudice and Pride: Women artists and the Public Works Art Project in Dallas and Houston 1933-1934
  • Robert  Summers - A passionate collector, CASETA supporter and advocate of modern Texas art who has presented many papers on this subject (Topic:  Austin Modern)    
  • Jason Schoen - A collector for over a quarter of a century whose art collection concentrates on the art of the 1930s - 40s, especially regional art of the period (Topic: Texas Regionalism in the context of American Regionalism)
In addition to its educational program comprised of leading experts in the field, the symposium is also the setting of the Annual Texas Art Fair.  CASETA's Texas Art Fair continues to offer symposium goers the value-added bonus of an extraordinary exhibition of early Texas art presented by the state's leading dealers.  Like the Symposium, the 2014 Art Fair promises to be one of the best of the past several years.  Admission to the Art Fair continues to be free to CASETA members and symposium registrants.

Texas Art Fair Participants  

Beuhler Fine Art

Charles Morin's Vintage Texas Paintings
 

David Dike Fine Art

Heritage Auction Galleries

Rainone Galleries

Robert Alker Fine Art

William Reaves Fine Art


Austin is a perfect setting to celebrate early Texas art so

The Ragsdale Center,
 St. Edward's University 

mark your calendars now and save May 2 - 4, 2014 to be at the Ragsdale Center on the St. Edward's campus to share this grand experience with friends and colleagues. Please note below the information about making your room reservations early! Contact us if you have any questions and we look forward to seeing everyone in Austin!

 

 Hotel Accommodations  

 

Room blocks are being set up at hotesl for attendees of the 2014 Symposium and Texas Art Fair.  Three hotels with room blocks are currently on the CASETA website.  Make sure to mention CASETA when reserving rooms at these hotels.  Current hotel information on CASETA website.      

 

We encourage all attendees to make their room reservations early either at the hotels on the CASETA website or one of your choice.  Available rooms in Austin are limited.    



                                          FEATURE

Dawson Dawson-Watson

      The Texas Years

 

Dawson Dawson-Watson was in Boston in 1926 when he received a letter from an old friend announcing the Texas Wildflower Competitive Exhibition. Edgar B. Davis, oil pioneer and philanthropist of Luling, Texas was offering $5,000, the largest cash prize ever to be awarded to an artist. Dawson-Watson sold a painting almost immediately to cover the fare to San Antonio, and he and his wife Dot (so named affectionately by Dawson-Watson as she was very tiny in stature) set off. 

 

On their journey to San Antonio, the Dawson-Watsons stayed with friends in St. Louis. When asked where they were headed now, Dawson replied, "Texas."  He related that his friends were amused as they thought he was surely headed for the wild and wooly west where art was scarce, but Dawson said that he knew better as he had been to San Antonio before and knew the Texans appreciated the beauty of their land.

 

Dawson entered three paintings, each with a beautifully hand carved frame, for the Wildflower Competition, "The Glory of the Morning", "Flowers of the Field", and "Spring".  Dawson wrote that he had never been a prize winner and that the most he actually expected of the competition was to make a few sales. Can you imagine his surprise and delight when his painting, "The Glory of the Morning" won the $5,000 prize? According to his own account of the evening banquet when the winners were announced, he fell forward on the table and "passed out" so to speak. Bernhardt Wall slapped him on the back, and said, "Stand up you d----d fool and say something." Somehow he managed to rise to his feet, bow, and say, "Thank you."

   

"Glory of the Morning", is owned by and on display at the Luling Foundation in  Luling, Texas. The foundation's website states, "Glory of the Morning" is a shining example of Dawson-Watson's landscape art.  
Photo courtesy of the Luling Foundation  

    

Dawson Dawson-Watson with Jury of Edgar B. Davis Wildflower Competition 1927. Left to Right: Henry Bayley Snell, unknown, Dawson Dawson-Watson, Charles Curran, Edouard Leon.
Photo courtesy of the Dawson Dawson-Watson Estate

  

It is interesting, some might say, as to why Dawson-Watson chose to paint the cactus flower, a plant that had usually been considered unworthy of attention. In his own words Dawson-Watson declared, "Your bluebonnets are lovely, graceful, but they lack the striking individuality of the cactus...It seems to me that its centuries of blooming in the Texas sun has actually transferred some of the sunshine to the golden cactus flower. For character and color it is the most interesting flower you have."     

 

Dawson Dawson-Watson
Photo courtesy of the Dawson Dawson-Watson Estate

 

The Gallagher Ranch north of San Antonio just off the Bandera Road was one of the first dude ranches in Texas. When visitors to this Bandera Hill Country ranch in the 1920s turned off the main road and drove through the ranch gates, they continued to drive for a couple of miles. The road gently wound its way through a landscape of cedar and live oak brush before arriving at the Gallagher Ranch quadrangle, a complex of hand-quarried limestone buildings, the living quarters and center of social activity at the ranch. The Gallagher was not only a dude ranch, but a working ranch as well with real cowboys and ranch hands tending to the cattle and goats.   

 

Dawson Dawson-Watson painting cowboy Slick Jones at the
Gallagher Ranch
Photo Courtesy of the Dawson Dawson-Watson Estate

It was here at the Gallagher Ranch, out in the brush alongside the San Geronimo Creek and under the azure Texas sky that Dawson-Watson sat down on the ground, propped up his canvas and painted the cactus flowers. Always attired as the English gentleman, family photographs confirm this, he took to the hardy brush dressed in a linen suit and hat, white cravat, and spats.   

 

Painting in the Brush
Photo courtesy of the Dawson Dawson-Watson Estate

 

"LET-'ER GO GALLAGHER" was the newsletter of the ranch, "Published Ever-Once-In-A-While: At The Change of The Moon". A March 1934 edition of the newsletter is filled with the comings/goings, parties and commentaries about the "dudes".  

 

 The Gallagher newsletter may have reminded Dawson-Watson of his younger days in Giverny, France and Scituate, Massachusetts when he and his artist friends wrote, illustrated and printed news about themselves and their community in small paper booklets entitled "The Courrier Innocent". There is no evidence that Dawson-Watson created the newsletter for the Gallagher Ranch, but he certainly contributed to it with comments, drawings and a poem or two as follows:   

  

                     At the Gallagher Ranch, out Helotes way,  

                     When I get fed up, I head from town  

                     Our Days and nights are always gay. 

                     To fool around and play the clown.  

  

                     Where the food is excellent, horses fine 

                     At the Gallagher Ranch out Helotes way 

                     And the air is tonic and acts like wine. 

                     Where your days and nights are always gay.  

 

D. D-W.

 

 

Dot, an accomplished musician, was also an active participant in the fun and festivities of the ranch. In the March 1934 newsletter, it is noted that she organized charades, cowboy songs, the Ranch Orchestra, and Spanish dances by the Mexican Senioritas at a gala birthday party for Mrs. Pancoast Kidder. 

 

The Dawson-Watsons fell in love with San Antonio, and after the 1927 Wildflower Competition decided to make San Antonio their permanent home. And why not? San Antonio not only had historic Spanish Missions, the picturesque La Villita, but also an emerging art scene. The Davis Competition had called attention to San Antonio, and artists were responding by moving there, with some establishing art studios and schools. 

 

The Witte Museum was opened in 1926. At some point, when the museum ran into difficulty, possibly during the Depression, Dawson -Watson did not hesitate in writing to a newspaper editor of his adopted city, "So I appeal to my brother artists to step forward and back me up and I will start the ball rolling with a $5 subscription. There are a large number of clubs and other organizations in the city that can well afford to subscribe something, no matter how small to support an institution whose main idea is to teach the appreciation of the beautiful, of which life is so full, and yet has to be demonstrated to bring it home to us in the full meaning of the word. There isn't an artist here who hasn't benefited directly or indirectly through the art appreciation created by the museum."  DAWSON-WATSON.

 

In recognition of Dawson-Watson and his artistic achievements, we are pleased to announce the Dawson Dawson-Watson Catalogue Raisonn� Project.

 

The catalogue will be a comprehensive collection of his life's work, focusing primarily on paintings, drawings and printed works.

 

Last year we attended the CASETA Symposium in San Antonio and this year we look forward to seeing everyone again in Austin.

 

The Dawson Dawson-Watson Family

 

Cheri Dawson Hamilton

Shannon T. Aaron

Derrek C. Aaron

Contact information: [email protected]

          

                      RESEARCH  REQUESTS

Seeking Information on  

Eagle Statue in Houston

 

Grace Cynkar, historic preservation specialist, is currently working on a project for the United States Post Office and Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) located at 401 Franklin Street, Houston, Texas 77201. As part of her investigation of this building she is attempting to identify the provenance and history of all artworks associated with the site; however, Grace is having difficulty finding any information on one piece in particular, a stone or cast stone statue of an eagle.  Attached is a PDF with photographs of the statue and a summary of the information discovered to date.    

Grace asks that our readers look at the photos and share any information you might have on the artist or artwork. You can contact either Grace at [email protected] or Anna Mod at [email protected] with any details or questions you may have. You can also call (281) 617-3217.   

 
Any information you can provide will be appreciated!

     NOTES  FROM  YOUR  CASETA  STAFF
              A Word from the CASETA Administrator
 
The word is membership.  In December and early January many CASETA members received a letter asking them to renew their membership and I want to thank each of you who responded and are continuing your support of CASETA and our mission to promote the preservation, study, and appreciation of early Texas art.  In mid-January the CASETA board updated membership levels and guidelines and these are found on the membership page of the CASETA website and in renewal forms.  You will also see them shortly on a newly updated membership brochure.    

Don't feel left out if you didn't receive a membership renewal notice.  Your renewal notice will come before your yearly membership is due which for many of you means at the time of our yearly symposium.  You can also renew as part of your on-line symposium registration, on our website or right now!  Click here for printable membership form

Valerie Bluthardt

One of the benefits of your membership is reduced registration at the upcoming 12th Annual Symposium and Texas Art Fair. As you can see earlier in this newsletter there will be excellent speakers, chances to get a behind -the- scene view at several outstanding art collections, spend time with your favorite art dealers at the Texas Art Fair, and of course, share your passion of early Texas art with other attendees.  I hope to meet many of you in Austin May 2 - 4, 2014, but in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] if I can be of assistance.

 

Sincerely,  

 

Valerie C. Bluthardt  

          MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
             & Upcoming  Events

We invite everyone to submit upcoming events that relate to the study and advancement of early Texas art.  Email details to [email protected] and we
will publicize your event in the next newsletter.   

Panhandle  

 

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum 

2503 4th Avenue

Canyon, TX  79015 

 

Olive Vanruff: Artist of the American West

March 1, 2014 through February 7, 2015 

 

Born at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, in 1908, Olive Vandruff (1908-2003) spent much of her childhood traveling in the Southwestern United States with her geologist father.  She began studying to be an artist with the painter Edmund Giesbert at the University of Chicago.  She also studied with Chicago sculptors Elisabeth H. Hibbard and Frederick C. Hibbard, eventually becoming an assistant to them.  Vandruff moved to San Antonio in the 1940s where she became an assistant to sculptor Pompeo Coppini, and operated a sheep ranch near Kerrville.   While in the Hill Country she became a renowned painter of wildlife and  game birds, and was often commissioned to paint horse and pet portraits.  She met artist H. D. Bugbee in 1960, marrying him the following year and relocating to Clarendon, Texas.  Upon Bugbee's death in 1963, Vandruff succeeded him as curator of art at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum until her retirement in 1982. 

Vandruff worked in several media, including pastel, watercolor, casein, and oil.  The works of art presented in this exhibition are a testament to her skills with different subjects and in different media.  The entire exhibition is drawn from the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum's permanent collection.

   

Anna Keener: Southwest Regionalist

September 13, 2014 through February 15, 2015  

 

Borrowing from both private and public collections, PPHM will present a retrospective of Keener's work from her time in Texas to the conclusion of her career in Santa Fe.  Approximately 70 works will be included in the exhibition to be presented in the Foran Family Galleries.

 

An artist and educator, Anna Keener (1895-1982) was born in Flagler, Colorado.  She studied with Birger Sandzen at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, achieving B.F.A. and B.A. degrees there in 1916 and 1918, respectively, and received her M.A. from the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque) in 1951. She also studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, Art Institute of Chicago, and Detroit School of Design.   She used her maiden name "Keener" for her artistic endeavors but was known as Anna Wilton in her teaching and scholarly pursuits. She was an internationally recognized and honored artist.  The Southwest in general and Navajo culture in particular served as a focus for her work.  Written works include Spontaneity in Design (1923), describing the "scribble" approach to design. Anna was a Life Fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters and a charter member of the Art of American Society. In addition to these organizations, she was a member of numerous educational and art organizations.

 

FMI www.panhandleplains.org 

   

 

 North Texas 

 

Amon Carter Museum of American Art

3501 Camp Bowie Blvd.

Fort Worth, TX 76107

 

Texas Regionalism

April 30, 2013-April 20, 2014

 

This installation of Texas paintings captures a pivotal moment in the state's cultural history. In the 1930s, a group of young artists-including Jerry Bywaters, Alexandre Hogue, William Lester, Thomas Stell, Harry Carnohan, and Coreen Spellman, among others-gained national recognition for their scenic and ideological interpretations of the local environment. Although they depicted the people and landscapes of Texas in identifiable and representational manners, each artist possessed their own style, often combining realism with modernist influences ranging from Cubism to Surrealism.

 

FMI www.cartermuseum.org

Dallas Museum of Art
1717 North Harwood
Dallas, TX  75201

Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series
 February 16 through June 15, 2014

 Alexandre Hogue's deep concern for environmental issues was a catalyst for the creation of a body of works that spanned the entirety of his career. The land-management failures that spawned the devastation of the dust-bowl decade of the 1930s became the impetus for some of the artist's most powerful imagery-the Erosion series. Works such as the DMA's own Drouth-Stricken Area served as an alarm to the public and an accusation and rebuke to powers that, through encouraging poor farming practices, had helped to produce the greatest agricultural disaster in American history. Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series will present the artist's erosion works and supporting drawings for several of the paintings, allowing visitors to observe the evolution of Hogue's creative process from conception to finish.

 

FMI www.dma.org 

 

Central

Texas  

   

Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum

605 Robert E. Lee Road 

Austin, TX 78704 

  

C2 Sculptors:

Charles Umlauf & Charles T. Williams 

February 19 through April 20, 2014 

Two of the most prolific sculptors in twentieth century Texas, Charles Umlauf and Charles T. Williams competed for juried prizes, commissions, and museum shows. Each artist was powerfully affected by the art and events of the era. The two sculptors barely knew each other, yet at times their mid-century work is strikingly similar. C2 Sculptors offers rare insight into these two creative minds, exhibiting objects that have never before been publicly displayed.
 

 FMI www.umlaufsculpture.org

 

 The Witte Museum 

3801 Broadway

San Antonio, TX 78209
  

Julian Onderdonk  in New York: 

The Lost Years, The Lost Paintings 

March 8 through September 9, 2014 

Julian Onderdonk in New York: The Lost Years, The Lost Paintings

is an exhibition based on a book of the same name by James Graham Baker published by the Texas State Historical Association. Dr. Ron Tyler is the curator of the exhibition. Both the exhibition and the book reveal that while Julian Onderdonk has heretofore been considered a Texas artist, he was also an American artist as more than one third of his body of work was created in New York City and depicts scenes from the surrounding area. Many of the New York works were signed with pseudonyms, each well researched and documented. This exhibition and the book bring these years to light. Most of these paintings have never been displayed publicly.

  

 FMI www.wittemuseum.org  

 

See more information on the book, Julian Onderdonk in New York below in the Items of Interest section. 

 

South Texas 

 

Art Museum of South Texas 

1902 N. Shoreline Blvd  

Corpus Christi, TX  78401 

 

Deep in the Art of Texas:

Selections from the Collection of Torch Energy Advisors

September 26, 2014 through January 4, 2015

 

This exhibition of early Texas art comes from the Torch Energy Collection and was developed by the Center for Texas Studies at Texas Christian University.  Presenting a panoramic view of the art of Texas, the exhibition begins with such early artists as Theodore Gentilz and Robert Jenkins Onderdonk and ends with examples of contemporary artists such as Nancy Bush and Mark Kohler.  The paintings cover 100 years from 1850 - 1950 and also include works by Julian Onderdonk, Frank Reaugh, Jose Arpa, Otis Dozier, Tom Lea, Everett Spruce and many other luminaries of early Texas art.   Deep in the Art of Texas chronicles the entire state from the mountains of Big Bend to the fertile fields of East Texas and offers insight into our state history and its people. 

 

  

West Texas

  

San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts  

One Love Street   

San Angelo, TX  76903 

 

Soul of the Frontier: The Paintings of H.W. Caylor 

January 30 through March 30, 2014 

 

Soul of the Frontier: The Paintings of H.W. Caylor is a first-of-its-kind presentation of the art of Big Spring artist Harvey Wallace Caylor (1867-1932). One of the qualities that set Caylor apart from other western artists is the fact that he didn't just observe frontier life, he lived it. This exhibit, with works loaned from the Heritage Museum in Big Spring, the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, and private collectors, is a glimpse into the life of the West Texas frontier-beautiful and unforgiving. According to Joe Pickle, in the introduction to the 1981 catalogue raisonn� of Caylor's works, "He pursued his calling with a dedication to accuracy, following roundups, scrutinizing the movements of running cattle, the contortions of bucking broncos, the flick of a lariat, the tranquil ripple of a stream. Sometimes he was the landscapist, conveying the spacious loveliness and loneliness of the rolling hills and plains...Sometimes he was the interpreter of the character of ranchers and cowhands who fought doggedly back at a stubborn, unrelenting frontier."

     

 
                                 Items of Interest
 
Paintings by Penelope Lingan donated to Heritage Society

The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park (Houston) recently received a gift of paintings by early Texas artist Penelope Lingan (1860-1943).  Though primarily associated with Houston, she also lived and worked in Beaumont and Dallas.  Her work is so scarce that she is not widely known, though she did one of the official portraits of Governor Ma Ferguson, now permanently displayed among the portraits of Texas Governors in the State Capitol in Austin.  The paintings are now up in the Heritage Society Museum, where the exhibition Exploring Houston's Green History:  Sam Houston Park 1899-2014 will also be on view until April 26.

http://www.heritagesociety.org/museumgallery.html
 

Julian Onderdonk Book to be Released

James and Kimel Baker of College Station are pleased to share the news that his book, Julian Onderdonk in New York: The Lost Years - The Lost Paintings is being published by the Texas State Historical Association and will be released on March 5 in conjunction with the TSHS annual meeting.    If you go to the website:

you can see the pre-release advertisement.  

 

In conjunction with the book, there is going to be an exhibition that will be curated by Dr. Ron Tyler and held at the Witte Museum, which will feature Julian's New York period works, and will open with the book's release on March 5 for the Texas State Historical Association's annual meeting. The official public opening is on Saturday March 8 and it runs through September 2, 2014.  Also, Ron and James co-authored an article about the book and exhibit, and had it accepted by American Art Review magazine.  


       
           Documentary on Frank Reaugh Coming to Fruition

 Many early Texas art lovers are aware of and have supported the  documentary Frank Reaugh: Pastel Poet of the Texas Plains which is currently being made under the guidance of producer/director Marla Fields.  There is a website dedicated to the production and you can find the most up-to-date information on the status of the project.  In 2013 the filming phase was finished and the editing by Chuck Veneable has started along with arranging of the musical score by composer Curtis Peoples.  2014 should see the production moving toward completion.    

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

Announces Arpa Exhibition

 

The Panhandle Plains Historical Museum has begun work on a major retrospective of the works of Jose Arpa!  Michael Grauer, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs/Curator of Art and Western Heritage, will curate an exhibition of Jose Arpa's work, both in the United States and abroad.  The planned exhibition is expected to open at the PPHM in 2015 and then travel to two or three other Texas cities, for a total run of about one year.

 

Michael is looking for works to consider for inclusion in this exhibition.  If you have a work of art by Mr. Arpa that you would be willing to lend to the exhibition, please send an image to Mr. Grauer at [email protected]