HOUSTON
F O U N D ER S
AT CIT Y HALL
a r t e x h i b i t i on
J un e 1 – O cto b e r 1 , 2 0 1 4
Houston Founders at City Hall
Exhibition on view: June 1 – October 1, 2014
Schedule of Events: Friday, June 20, 5 – 7 PM Introduction and Opening Reception Friday, June 20, 5:30 PM Exhibition Talk: Dr. Alvia Wardlaw, Houston’s Tradition in African-American Art Friday, June 20, 6 PM Guided Tour of Exhibition Friday, July 11, 5 – 7 PM Exhibition Talk: Randy Tibbits, Houston Artists of the Early Twentieth Century Wednesday, September 17, 5 – 7:30 PM Closing Reception and Tour Wednesday, September 17, 5:30 PM Exhibition Talk: Dr. Katie Edwards, Texas Modernism
Cover images (clockwise from left): Bill Condon, Main Street Houston, page 15; Grace Spaulding John, Negro House on Dowling, 5th Ward, page 8; Adrienne Rison, Scrub Woman, page 40. 1
Houston Founders at City Hall Houston, June 13, 2014 — Mayor’s Office Teams with Local Gallery to Show “Houston Founder’s at City Hall,” a Working Art Exhibition in City Conference Rooms Honors Houston’s Legacy Artists, exhibition on view through October 1, 2014
The Mayor’s Office, in conjunction with William Reaves Fine Art, brings a splendid selection of art works by many of Houston’s earlier painters to the walls of City Hall in an effort to acknowledge the Bayou City’s rich arts legacy and to recognize local artists who have made life-time contributions to the growth of the Houston arts scene. With paintings installed in various conference rooms throughout city headquarters, the unique “working” exhibition will be on display through August 1, 2014. The exhibition was facilitated by Ms. Minnette Boesel, Mayor’s Assistant for Cultural Affairs, and organized by William Reaves Fine Arts, a local gallery specializing in early Texas art. Dr. Alvia Wardlaw of Texas Southern University and Ms. Danielle Burns, Curator of Collections for the Houston Public Library System served as cocurators for the project. The exhibition addresses four distinct styles, or schools, of painting which emerged in Houston during the fifty years spanning the 1920s through the 1970s. Included are examples of the city’s earliest proponents of Impressionism, Modernism, AfricanAmerican Regionalism and Abstract Expressionism. Artists shown include: David Adickes, John Biggers, Jack Boynton, Roylin Bradley, Lamar Briggs, Emma Richardson Cherry, Bill Condon, Diedre Curnell, Charles
Criner, Don Edelman, Frank Freed, Henri Gadbois, Karl Hall, Dorothy Hood, Otis Huband, Earlie Hudnall, Grace Spaulding John, Paul Maxwell, Leila McConnell, William McKenna, Herb Mears, Adrienne Rison, E.M. “Buck” Schiwetz, Charles Schorre, Chester Snowden, Earl Staley, Richard Stout, Stella Sullivan, Anthony Thibodeaux, and Dick Wray. Mayor Annise Parker noted that, “it is a special treat to see these wonderful works installed on the walls of City Hall. It is a statement about the richness, diversity and accomplishment of our city’s art scene, and a tribute to these and the many other artists who have shared their time and talents with us here in Houston.” Boesel explained the conference room exhibition as “a part of our desire to continually share great art in public spaces, as well as in the work environment, and described the exhibition as a “celebration of the city’s remarkable art legacy.” She congratulated the artists, and expressed appreciation to the staff of Reaves gallery, as well as the associated curators.The exhibition is accompanied by a lecture series focusing on the development of Houston art. These talks are free to the public and will include a guided tour of works shown in each conference room. The receptions are to be held in the Rotunda at City Hall, located in downtown Houston at 901 Bagby Street, Houston, TX 77002.
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Houston Founders at City Hall: Exhibition Checklist
E ARLY H OU S TON I M P R ES S IONIS M Artist
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Cherry, Emma Richardson Gadbois, Henry V. John, Grace Spaulding McKenna, William Schiwetz, E.M. Schiwetz, E.M. Uhler, Ruth Pershing
Title
Date
Medium
Size (in.)
Retail
Interpretation in Red
c.1925
oil on canvas
27.75 x 17.5 $12,500
Untitled (Bayou Bridge)
c.1938
oil on canvas
18 x 25
NFS
Negro House on Dowling
1924
oil on canvas
20 x 24
NFS
Bridge on Buffalo Bayou Main Street Viaduct McKinney Entrance of Julia Ideson Building Still Life - Water Lillies
1938 1932 1965 c.1935
watercolor colored crayon ink on paper oil on canvas
18 x 12 10 x 13.5 10 x 8 24 x 20
NFS NFS NFS
H OU S TON M ODE RNI S M 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
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Artist
Title
Date
Medium
Size (in.)
Retail
Adickes, David Briggs, Lamar Condon, Bill Edelman, Don Freed, Frank Gadbois, Henri Maxwell, Paul Mears, Herb Snowden, Chester Sullivan, Stella Staley, Earl
Two Musicians Yellow Sky Main Street, Houston MFA Student's Basement Apartment Toledo Revisited Winter Twilight Two Musicians Untitled (Orchestra Scene) Reflections on a Glass Door Painter's Apron 2
c.1965 1965 1969 2003 c.1970 1958 1957 1956 c.1960 c.1960 2010
oil on canvas oil on canvas mixed media mixed media oil on canvas oil on canvas tempera on board oil on canvas oil on canvas oil on canvas mixed media
40 x 30 50 x 40 60 x 50 48 x 34 23 x 27 29 x 42 24 x 60 54 x 37 24 x 30 30 x 20 42 x 44
NFS NFS NFS $9,500 NFS $4,000 $3,800 NFS $3,200 NFS NFS
Houston Founders at City Hall: Exhibition Checklist
H OU S TON E X P RE S S IONIS M 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Artist
Title
Date
Medium
Size (in.)
Retail
Boyton, Jack Hood, Dorothy Huband, Otis McConnell, Leila Schorre, Charles Stout, Richard Wray, Dick
Inland Lights Crossing the Great River Celebrating Irrational Behavior The Poles of the Mountain Marfa Lights - Universal U-Turn The Fourth Day Untitled 1848
1956 c.1972 2009 1979 c.1985 1963 2003
oil on board oil on canvas oil on canvas oil on canvas oil on canvas oil on canvas mixed media
41 x 63 70 x 60 56 x 41.5 48 x 36 48 x 48 48 x 36 48 x 36
NFS $18,000 $7,000 NFS NFS $6,500 $8,000
A FRI C AN- A M ERI C AN RE G IONALIS M Artist
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
Biggers, John Bradley, Roylin Cornell, Dierdre Criner, Charles Hall, Karl Hudnall, Earlie Hudnall, Earlie Rison, Adrienne Thibodeaux, 34 Anthony
Title
Date
Medium
Size (in.)
Retail
Barbara Untitled Joiling Yams I've Really Got to Use My Imagination Boy with Bread The Wood Chopper Scrub Woman
1964 1976 1979 1975 no date 1993 1986 1976
graphite oil on canvas charcoal lithograph charcoal gelatin silver print gelatin silver print charcoal
19 x 14.5 34 x 24 14 x 17 13 x 17 15.5 x 11.75 19 x 15 18 x 15.5 7x9
$4,500 NFS NFS NFS NFS NFS NFS NFS
Creation
c.1990
charcoal
25 x 38
NFS
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E A R L Y HOUSTON IMPRESSIONISM At the end of the 19th century, American artists took up the Impressionist aesthetic, producing an Impressionist movement quite distinct from its French predecessor. This stylistic movement of American Impressionism also fostered its own Texas variation. The artists of the Texas Impressionist movement were exposed to the Impressionist aesthetic on their journeys abroad to French art centers, or stateside ventures to the various Impressionist colonies that sprouted up in New England. Beginning in 1895, a brand of Houston Impressionism took hold in the city with artist Emma Richardson Cherry blazing the trail as an avid advocate of the Impressionistic ideals. During the early years of the 20th century, Cherry and other Impressionist artists throughout the state represented Texas’s avant-garde with the luminous light and enchanting colors of their compositions. Texas, being relatively wild and sparsely-populated, made an ideal environment for these Impressionists who sought to capture the beauty of their local environment. Some of the leading proponents of Early Houston Impressionism are shown here, including Emma Richardson Cherry, Henry V. Gadbois, Grace Spaulding John, William McKenna, E.M. “Buck” Schiwetz, and Ruth Pershing Uhler.
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1. Emma Richardson Cherry, Interpretation in Red, c.1925, oil on canvas, 27.75 x 17.5 inches.
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2. Henry V. Gadbois, Untitled (Bayou Bridge), c.1938, oil on canvas, 18 x 25 inches.
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3. Grace Spaulding John, Negro House on Dowling, 5th Ward, 1924, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches.
8
4. William McKenna, Bridge on Buffalo Bayou, 1936, watercolor, 18 x 12 inches.
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5. E.M. “Buck” Schiwetz, Main Street Viaduct, 1932, colored crayon, 10 x 13.5 inches.
6. E.M. “Buck” Schiwetz, McKinney Entrance of Julia Ideson Building, 1965, ink, 10 x 8 inches.
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7. Ruth Pershing Uhler, Still Life - Water Lilies, c.1935, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches.
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HOUSTON MODERNISM The middle years of the twentieth-century (from 1945-1975) proved to be among the most productive periods in American art, and Texas painting was no exception. Lone Star art evolved and exploded in post-war Texas, offering new opportunities and expectations for both artists and patrons. Compared to earlier, more conservative output, mid-century Texas painters struck bold new paths in their creation of art, manifesting divergent patterns such as those evidenced in the remarkable mÊlange of subject, style, and palette seen in this show. While remaining true to regional subject and theme, Texas artists actively embraced interesting new modes of abstraction, ranging from forms of cubism to expressionism, and points in between. It was an energetic and creative time, rich with novel and inventive work. Mid-century painting in Texas demonstrates a spirited embrace of modernism in all its varied forms, underscoring the natural progressions of artists within our borders and the influences from outside. While there were exceptional artists at work throughout the state, Houston was the titular leader of this mid-century art scene in Texas and the Southwest, producing many of the state’s most significant twentieth-century modernists. Many of these local giants of mid-century modernism are represented in this show, their period works continuing to hold an edge and freshness even some half-century later. Houston Modernists included in this exhibition are David Adickes, Lamar Briggs, Bill Condon, Don Edelman, Frank Freed, Henri Gadbois, Paul Maxwell, Herb Mears, Chester Snowden, Earl Staley, and Stella Sullivan.
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8. David Adickes, Two Musicians, c.1965, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches.
13
9. Lamar Briggs, Yellow Sky, c.1965, oil on canvas, 50 x 40 inches.
14
10. Bill Condon, Main Street, Houston, 1969, mixed media on canvas, 60 x 50 inches.
15
11. Don Edelman, MFA Student’s Basement Apartment, Champaign-Urbana, 1951, oil on canvas, 48 x 34 inches.
16
12. Frank Freed, Toledo Revisited, c.1970, oil on canvas, 23 x 27 inches.
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13. Henri Gadbois, Winter, 1958, oil on canvas, 29 x 42 inches.
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14. Paul Maxwell, Twilight, 1957, tempera on board, 24 x 60 inches.
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15. Herb Mears, Two Musicians, 1956, oil on canvas, 54 x 37 inches.
20
16. Chester Snowden, Untitled (Orchestra Scene), c.1960, oil on canvas, 23.5 x 29.5 inches.
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17. Earl Staley, Painter’s Apron 2, 2010, mixed media on canvas, 42x44 inches.
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18. Stella Sullivan, Reflections on a Glass Door, c.1952, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 inches.
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H OUSTON EXPRESSIONISM Abstract expressionism became one of the most influential and important developments in art in the last century. During the post-war period, expressionist painting came to dominate the city, appearing in many different forms. In the works of Houston Expressionists, one sees not only expressionist qualities, but also the artist’s larger framework of experiences in Texas on which these tenets of expressionism were founded. Drawing from the character of their surroundings, the artists bring their own perspective to the expressionist style. Each artist paints around an idea that has been shaped and interpreted, consciously or subconsciously, by the various elements that make up the Lone Star state. Texas has provided fertile grounds for the production of abstract expressionism, and continues to provide enthusiastic support and receptivity for its artists. Houston Expressionists shown here are Jack Boynton, Dorothy Hood, Otis Huband, Leila McConnell, Charles Schorre, Richard Stout, and Dick Wray.
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19. Jack Boynton, Inland Lights, 1956, oil on board, 41 x 63 inches.
25
20. Dorothy Hood, Crossing the Great River, 1973, oil on canvas, 70 x 60 inches.
26
21. Otis Huband, Celebrating Irrational Behavior, 2009, oil stick on canvas, 56 x 41.5 inches.
27
22. Leila McConnell, The Poles of the Mountain, 1979, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches.
28
23. Charles Schorre, Marfa Lights - Universal U-Turn, c.1985, oil on canvas, 48 x 58 inches.
29
24. Richard Stout, Fourth Day, 1963, oil on canvas, 33.5 x 48 inches.
30
25. Dick Wray, Untitled, 1848, 2003, mixed media on canvas, 48 x 36 inches.
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A F R I C AN-AMERICAN REGIONALISM In 1949, artist John Biggers moved to Houston where he was named chairman of the nascent art department at Texas State University (later renamed Texas Southern University). Over the next thirty-four years, Biggers trained a generation of African-American artists and teachers who form a vital part of Houston’s legacy of African-American Regionalism. Biggers’ and his students’ works of art are deeply rooted in daily life, experience, and values of the African-American community. These works often give a voice to those struggling under oppression and pushed to the margins of society. Their artworks draw from personal experience, African-American history, and observations of their shifting place within broader American society. Dr. Alvia Wardlaw’s selection of African-American Regionalism for this section include John Biggers, Roylin Bradley, Deidre Cornell, Charles Criner, Karl Hall, Earlie Hudnall, Adrienne Rison, and Anthony Thibodeaux. For more information on these artists, please contact Dr. Wardlaw, director of the University Museum at Texas Southern University.
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26. John Biggers, Barbara, 1964, graphite on paper, 19 x 14.5 inches.
33
27. Roylin Bradley, Untitled, 1976, oil on canvas, 34 x 24 inches.
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28. Dierdre Cornell, Joiling, 1979, charcoal, 14x17 inches.
35
29. Charles Criner, Yams, 1975, lithograph, 13 x 17 inches.
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30. Karl Hall, I’ve Really Got to Use My Imagination, no date, charcoal, 15.5 x 11.75 inches.
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31. Earlie Hudnall, Boy with Bread, 1993, gelatin silver print, 19 x 15 inches.
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32. Earlie Hudnall, The Wood Chopper, 1986, gelatin silver print, 18 x 15.5 inches.
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33. Adrienne Rison, Scrub Woman, 1976, charcoal, 7 x 9 inches.
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34. Anthony Thibodeaux, Creation, c.1990, charcoal, 25 x 38 inches.
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Houston Founders at City Hall
Viewing Appointments: Appointments for tours may be made outside specified event hours at least a day in advance on Monday-Friday, 10am-12pm or 2-5pm, by contacting Maricela Kruseman with the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. Please contact her at 832-393-1099 or email maricela.kruseman@houstontx.gov. Venue Contact Information: Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs 901 Bagby, Fourth Floor, City Hall, Houston, TX 77002 (832) 393-1097 Parking Information: Limited metered parking is available on the street. A metered parking lot is on the west side of the City Hall Annex across the street from City Hall and located at 900 Bagby. To access, take Walker Street (one way going west), cross Bagby Street and take your immediate left onto driveway ramp. Metered parking on your left. Come in the Annex entrance and Security will direct you through the pedestrian tunnel to the City Hall Rotunda.
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William Reaves Fine Art, L.L.C. 2313 Brun Street, Houston, Texas 77019 p. 713.521.7500 e. info@reavesart.com Catalogue designed by Elizabeth O’Dowd