LEILAMCCONNELL(b.1927)
LeilaMcConnellwasborninLosAngeles,California.HerfamilymovedtoHoustonwhenshewassixand, aftergraduatingfromhighschool,sheenrolledatRiceInstitute(nowRiceUniversity).Atthetime,Ricehad nodepartmentofarchitecture,butMcConnellsoughtinspirationfromiconicprofessor,JamesChillman. AccordingtoMcConnell,Chillmanhadthegreatestinfluenceonhersenseofdesign,proportion,andthe abilitytoseeherart.Studyingfreehanddrawing,design,watercolor,art,andarchitecturalhistoryunder Chillman,McConnellexcelled.AfterearningherBachelorofArtsdegreefromRice,shecontinuedherart studiesattheMuseumSchool(nowGlassellSchool)attheMuseumofFineArts,Houston.
McConnellhadimpeccableacademictrainingandherearlypaintings,bothoilandpastel,wereveryrealistic.Themajorityofhersubjectmatter waseitherstilllife,figurestudies,orportraits.Inthesummerof1949,sheattendedtheSanFranciscoSchoolofFineArtsandwasfortunateto studyunderMarkRothko.HisvisionandinnovativeinstructionmarkedMcConnell’sshiftawayfromtherealismthathadpreviouslydominated herworks.AfterherclasseswithRothko,shebegantopaintmoreabstractpieces,creatinganimaginarygirlinwatercolor.
From1950until1968,sheheldaninstructionalpositionattheMFAH’sMuseumSchool.Intheearly1950s,McConnellwasinvolvedand curatedexhibitionsfortheContemporaryArtAssociation(nowtheContemporaryArtMuseum,Houston).Fromthelate1950sthroughthelate 1980s,McConnellshowedwithHoustongalleries--PollyMarstersandHoustonArtists’GalleryonMainStreet;CushmanGallery;followed byDuboseGalleryin1966;thenwithLeslieMuth. Realizingthatshehadavividimagination,McConnellembarkedonatriptoEuropein 1960.ThestuccobuildingsofItalygreatlyimpactedhervisionandcausedachangeinherpaintings.Hercolorsbecamesoftandblended,often mistyandportrayingasunormoon,causingtheartisttodeemmanyofherworks“skypaintings.”Inhercontinuedexplorationofthesetypesof scapes,McConnellsimplifies,balances,anddeconstructs tocreateoftenethereal,imaginedspaceswhichremainascompellingtodayasthey didhalfacenturyagoIn1976,McConnellbegancreatingpapercollages,adiversionfromherpaintedworks.Thoughsmall,hercollages impactedthewayMcConnellcreatedherpaintings—heredgesbecameharder,mixedwiththemistinessofherskiesandhercompositions becamemoresymmetrical.McConnellcontinuestopaintinheruniquestyleanddevelopheroeuvreof“sky”pieces.
ConsideredtobetwoofHouston’sFoundingArtists,McConnellwasmarriedtofellowHoustonartistHenriGadboisforover60years,starting in1956untilGadboispassingin2018.Theyhavetwochildrenandthreegrandchildren,oneofwhichseemstobecontinuingthefamily’s artisticlegacy.
SelectedBiographicalandCareerHighlights:
1927 BorninLosAngeles,California
1948 BA,RiceUniversity,Houston,Texas
1949 BS,Architecture,RiceUniversity,Houston,Texas
1949 SanFranciscoSchoolofFineArts,SanFrancisco,California
1950–68Instructor,MuseumSchool,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,Texas
1954–59WorkedforHoustonarchitect,HamiltonBrown
1956 Marriedartist,HenriGadbois
1960 VisitedItaly CurrentlyResidesinHouston,Texas
SelectedExhibitions:
1949 24thAnnualExhibitionofWorkbyHoustonArtists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1950 25thAnnualExhibitionofWorkbyHoustonArtists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1951 26thAnnualExhibitionofWorkbyHoustonArtists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1951 13th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1951–1952,circulated:MuseumofFineArts, Houston, TX; DallasMuseumofArt,Dallas, TX;WitteMuseum,SanAntonio,TX
1952 27thAnnualExhibitionofWorksbyHoustonArtists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1953
28thAnnualExhibitionofWorksbyHoustonArtists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1953HoustonArtLeague,Houston,TX
1954
29th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX(AwardedJames Bute Co. Prize)
1954 ContemporaryArtAssociationRentalCollection1955,ContemporaryArtMuseum,Houston,TX
1955 30thAnnualExhibitionofWorksbyHoustonArtists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1955 TexasFineArtsExhibitofPaintings&Watercolors,MidwesternMuseum,WichitaFalls,TX
1955 31stAnnualExhibitionofHoustonArtists,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1956 ShadowandSubstance:TheShadowTheaterofMontmartreandModernArt,ContemporaryArtMuseum,Houston,TX
1956 ArtRentalService–1957Collection,ContemporaryArtMuseum,Houston,TX
1957 32ndAnnualHoustonArtistsExhibition,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1958 Texas Oil ’58, A Salute to the Oil Industry of the State by Texas Painters,MuseumofFineArts,Houston, TX,traveled to: Bank oftheSouthwest, Houston;DallasPublicLibrary,Dallas;RepublicNationalBankofDallas,TX(catalogue)
1958 33rdAnnualHoustonArtistsExhibition,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1958 D. D. Feldman Competitive Award Exhibit: The Contemporary Work of 88 Texas Artists,traveled;1958Jul–Augat McNay Museum, SanAntonio,TX;DuBoseGallery,Houston, TX;LeslieMuthGallery,Houston, TX
1959 34thAnnualHoustonArtistsExhibition,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1959 MuseumSchoolFacultyPrintExhibition,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1959 21st Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1959–1960,circulated:DallasMuseumofArt,Dallas;Witte Museum, San Antonio;BeaumontArtMuseum, Beaumont; Museum, TexasTech,Lubbock;MuseumofFineArts,Houston, TX
1960 35thAnnualHoustonArtistsExhibition,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1961 LongviewInvitational,LongviewMuseumofFineArts,Longview,TX
1961 23rd Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1961–1962,circulated:DallasMuseumofArt,Dallas; Witte Museum, SanAntonio;BeaumontArtMuseum,Beaumont;Museum,TexasTech,Lubbock,TX
1962 LongviewInvitational,LongviewMuseumofFineArts,Longview,TX
1962 MuseumSchoolFacultyExhibition,MuseumofFineArts,Houston,TX
1964 26th Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1964–1965,circulated:DallasMuseumofArt,Dallas; Beaumont Art Museum,Beaumont;WitteMuseum,SanAntonio;TexasWesternCollege,ElPaso;UniversityofTexasatAustin,TX
1967 TheSwansonCollectionofContemporaryTexasArtists,FortWorthArtCenter,FortWorth,TX
1968 SocialCommentaryArtExhibition,JewishCommunityCenter,Bellaire,TX
1971 ArtSalesandRentalGalleriesExhibition,LagunaGloriaArtMuseum,Austin,TX
1986 Solo, Leila McConnell: Collage to Canvas—New Works of Paper &Paintings,PlainFolkGallery,Houston, TX
1988Solo,LeilaMcConnell:TheNextStep,NewOilsandCollages,LeslieMuthGallery,Houston,TX
2004 ASelectionofArtMadeinHouston1950-1965,BrazosProjects,BrazosBookstore,Houston,TX
2004–05 Rice Institute and the Visual Arts in Houston: 1900–1960, Fondren Library,RiceUniversity, Houston, TX
2006 HoustonArtinHoustonCollections:Worksfrom1900to1965,HeritageSocietyMuseum,Houston,TX
2006–07 Of This Vast State: Women Artists of Texas, 1900–1960,Women’sMuseum, Dallas,TX
2007 Timeless: A Retrospective of Selected Women Artists of Texas, 1940 to Present,DavidDikeFineArt,Dallas; William Reaves Fine Art,Houston;WichitaFallsMuseumofArtatMidwesternStateUniversity,WichitaFalls,TX
2007–08 Urban Texas: Changing Images of an Evolving State,Panhandle-PlainsHistoricalMuseum,Canyon,TX
2008 FoundersofHoustonArt:ThirtyArtistsWhoLedtheWay,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2009 BacktotheFuture:Elementsof“Modern”inMid-CenturyTexasArt,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2009 LeilaMcConnellandHenriGadbois:SidebySide,O’KaneGallery,UniversityofHouston—Downtown,Houston,TX
2009 LoneStarStillLifes,Panhandle-PlainsHistoricalMuseum,Canyon,TX
2010 ThirdAnniversaryShow:ATributetoHoustonArtists,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2010 Pioneering Women: Three Modernists in Houston—Dorothy Hood, Leila McConnell, Stella Sullivan,WilliamReaves Fine Art, Houston, TX
2010 ThePresenceofLight:SkyandLightintheTexasLandscape,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2010 TexasCollages:ATributetoKurtSchwitters,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2011 SoutheastTexasArt:Cross-CurrentsandInfluences,1925–1965,ArtMuseumofSoutheastTexas,Beaumont,TX
2011 LoneStarModernism:ACelebrationofMid-CenturyTexasArt,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2011 PortraitofHouston:1900–2011,AllianceGallery,HoustonArtsAlliance,Houston,TX(catalogue)
2011 Breakthrough:SixtyYearsofTexasAbstraction,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2012 ASurveyofTexasModernists,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2013 ATributetoTexasRivers,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2013 RhythmsofModernism,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2013 SummerEncoreExhibition,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2014 Macrocosm/Microcosm: Abstract Expressionism in the American Southwest,FredJonesJr.MuseumofArt,University of Oklahoma, Norman,OK
2014 HoustonFoundersatCityHallArtExhibition,CityHall,Houston,TX
2014
A New Visual Vocabulary: Developments in Texas Modernism 1935-1965,OneAllenCenter,LobbyGallery,Houston, TX
2015 Bayou City Chic: Progressive Streams of Modern Art in Houston,ArtMuseumofSouthTexas,CorpusChristi,TX (catalogue)
2015 MidcenturyMontage:WorksbyThreeHoustonModernists,WilliamReavesFineArt,Houston,TX
2016 TexasOriginals:SixBayouCityExpressionists,WilliamReaves|SarahFoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2016 This WAS Contemporary Art: Fine and Decorative Arts in Houston 1945-1965,HeritageSocietyMuseum,Houston, TX(catalogue)
2016 Celebrating Houston's Founding Modernists: David Adickes, Leila McConnell &Henri Gadbois, William Reaves | SarahFoltzFineArt,Houston, TX
2017 TheArtofFoundObjects-redux!,WilliamsTowerGallery,Houston,TX
2017 Houston’sExpressionistLegacy:RichardStout&Friends,ReavesFoltz,HoustonTX
2018 SouthandNorthoftheBorder:HoustonPaintsHouston/HoustonPaintsMexico,TheHeritageSocietyMuseumGallery,Houston,TX
2018 SouthandNorthoftheBorder:HoustonPaintsMexico,HoustonPublicLibrary,JuliaIdesonBuilding,Houston,TX
2018 MidcenturyModinMotion,WilliamReaves|SarahFoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2019 UpCloseandPersonal:PortraitsfromtheReavesCollectionofTexasArt,TheGraceMuseum,Abilene,TX
2019 Texas in the Abstract: Selections from the Texas A&M University Permanent Collection and the Linda and William Reaves Collection of Texas Art, J. Wayne Stark Galleries,TexasA&MUniversity, CollegeStation,TX
2020 SummerSalon,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2020 AnotherWorld:RecentCollagesbyLeilaMcConnell,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2021 RonHartgrove&LeilaMcConnell,TheJungCenter,Houston,TX
2021 EvocativeObjects:StillLifePaintinginTexas,J.WayneStarkGalleries,TexasA&MUniversity,CollegeStation,TX
2021 SummerSalon:HoustonFounders&TexasModernism,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2022 HoustonMidcenturyMélange,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2022 TexasArtists:WomenofAbstraction,ArtMuseumofSouthTexas,CorpusChristi,TX
2022 ContemporaryTexasWomenArtists:AbstractionHere&Now,ArtMuseumofSoutheastTexas,Beaumont,TX
2023Solo,LeilaMcConnell:SomewhereBeyond,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2024 TexasModernism&Beyond:TexasArtfromthe1940s-1980s,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
2024 Aura:JaneAllensworth&LeilaMcConnell,SevenSistersGallery,Houston,TX
2024Solo,LeilaMcConnell:TheTimeBetween,FoltzFineArt,Houston,TX
SelectedPublicCollections
CivicArtProgram,CityofHouston,Texas
HoustonIndustriesIncorporated, Houston,TX
MenilCollection, Houston,TX
ModernArtMuseumofFortWorth,TX
NicholsonMemorialLibrary,Longview,TX OldJailArtCenter,Albany,TX
PublicArt,UniversityofHoustonSystems,Victoria,TX
TexasA&MUniversityMuseum,CollegeStation,TX
TheJohnNauCollectionofTexasArt,Houston,TX
Literature:
RobertCraigBunch, The Art of Found Objects: Interviews with Texas Artists,TexasA&MUniversityPress,2016,pages124-126. KatieRobinsonEdwards, Midcentury Modern Art in Texas,UniversityofTexasPress,2014. MichaelPagliaandJimEdwards. Texas Abstract: Modern / Contemporary. FrescoBooks,2014.
SarahC.Reynolds, Houston Reflections: Art in the City, 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Houston:RiceUniversityPress,2008. MarkA.White, Macrocosm/Microcosm: Abstract Expressionism in the American Southwest.Norman:FredJonesJr.MuseumofArt,2015. Leila McConnell and Henri Gadbois: Side by Side. Houston:O’kaneGallery,UniversityofHoustonDowntown(catalogue),2009. Houston Art in Houston Collections, Works from 1900 to 1965. Houston:HeritageSocietyMuseum(catalogue),2006. Bayou City Chic: Progressive Streams of Modern Art in Houston,ArtMuseumofSouthTexas,CorpusChristi,Texas (catalogue),2015. This WAS Contemporary Art: Fine and Decorative Arts in Houston 1945-1965,HeritageSocietyMuseum,Houston,Texas(catalogue), 2016. North of the Border: Houston Paints Houston / South of the Border: Houston Paints Mexico. Houston: HeritageSocietyMuseum(catalogue), 2018.
The Linda and William Reaves Collection of Texas Art — Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of University of Houston—Victoria, 19732023.Houston:PublicArtUniversityofHoustonSystem,2023.
Timeless: A Retrospective of Selected Women Artists of Texas, 1940 to Present.Dallas:DavidDikeEstates(catalogue),2007.
1.
3.
4.
LeilaMcConnell:TheTimeBetween December 6, 2024 - January 18, 2025
LeilaMcConnell
SuninaPaleSky,2015 oiloncanvas
48x36in
Framed49.50x37.25in
$14,500.00
LeilaMcConnell
Untitled,2019 oiloncanvas
30x24x0.75in
Framed31x25x1.25in
$5,600.00
FoltzFineArt
2143Westheimer Houston,TX77098
713.521.7500 www.foltzgallery.com
LeilaMcConnell
Untitled,2024 oiloncanvas
20x16x0.75in
Framed21x17x1.25in
$3,800.00 6.
LeilaMcConnell
Untitled,2024 oiloncanvas
24x18x0.75in
Framed25x19x1.25in
$4,000.00
7.
LeilaMcConnell
Untitled,2024 oiloncanvas
24x18x0.75in
Framed25x19x1.25in
$4,000.00
LeilaMcConnell
NewGrowth,2012 oiloncanvas
20x16in
Framed21x17x1.25in
$3,800.00
LeilaMcConnell
Untitled,2024 oiloncanvas
16x12.50x0.75in
$2,400.00 8.
LeilaMcConnell
GreyMoonface,2012 oiloncanvas
10x8x0.75in
Framed10.75x8.75x1in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnell
Untitled,2010 oiloncanvas
7.75x5.75in
Framed8.50x6.50x1.25in
$1,100.00
LeilaMcConnell
Untitled,2010 oiloncanvas
9x8x0.75in
Framed9.75x8.75x1.25in
$1,200.00
Leila McConnell
Untitled, 2024 paper collage
10 x 8 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00 16.
Leila McConnell
Untitled (green, portal), 2024 paper collage
8 x 6 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Leila McConnell
Untitled, 2024 paper collage
10 x 8 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Leila McConnell
Untitled (blue bar, brown/beige), 2024 paper collage
10 x 8.25 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Leila McConnell
Untitled, 2024 paper collage
10 x 8 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Leila McConnell
Untitled, 2024 paper collage
10 x 8 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Leila McConnell
Untitled, 2024 paper collage
10 x 8 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Untitled, 2017 paper collage
10 x 7.50 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Leila McConnell
Orange Sunrise, 2008 paper collage
9.50 x 7.50 in
Framed 17.75 x 15.75 x 1.25 in
$1,250.00
Leila McConnell
Untitled,2019 papercollage
8.50x6.50in
Framed17.75x15.75in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnell SuninaPaleSky,2015 oiloncanvas 48x36in
Framed49.50x37.25in
$14,500.00
Untitled,2019 oiloncanvas
30x24x075in
Framed31x25x125in
$5,60000
Untitled,2024
oiloncanvas
24x18x0.75in
Framed25x19x1.25in
$4,000.00
Untitled,2024
oiloncanvas
24x18x0.75in
Framed25x19x1.25in
$4,000.00
Untitled,2024
oiloncanvas
20x16x0.75in
Framed21x17x1.25in
$3,800.00
LeilaMcConnell NewGrowth,2012 oiloncanvas 20x16in
Framed21x17x1.25in
$3,800.00
Untitled,2024
oiloncanvas
16x1250x075in
Framed1750x1350x2in
$2,55000
GreyMoonface,2012 oiloncanvas
10x8x0.75in
Framed10.75x8.75x1in
$1,250.00
Untitled,2010 oiloncanvas
7.75x5.75in
Framed8.50x6.50x1.25in
$1,100.00
Untitled,2010 oiloncanvas
9x8x0.75in
Framed9.75x8.75x1.25in
$1,200.00
LeilaMcConnellCollage Untitled(green,portal),2024 papercollage 8x6in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnellCollage
Untitled(bluebar,brown/beige),2024
papercollage
10x8.25in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnellCollage
Untitled,2024
papercollage 10x8in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
Untitled,2017
papercollage
10x7.50in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnellCollage
Untitled,2024
papercollage 10x8in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
Untitled,2024
papercollage
10x8in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
Untitled,2024
papercollage
10x8in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnellCollage
Untitled,2024
papercollage
10x8in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnellCollage OrangeSunrise,2008 papercollage
9.50x7.50in
Framed17.75x15.75x1.25in
$1,250.00
LeilaMcConnellCollage
Untitled,2019
papercollage
8.50x6.50in
Framed17.75x15.75in
$1,250.00
