A Midcentury Montage: Art Works by Three Houston Founders - Leila McConnell

A Midcentury Montage: A r t Wo r k s b y T h r e e H o u s t o n F o u n d e r s

Leila McConnell

July 10 - Aug 8, 2015

Ten Years 2006

Wi l l i a m Re ave s F i n e A r t

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A Midcentury Montage: A r t Wo r k s b y T h r e e H o u s t o n F o u n d e r s

Aug 28 - Sept 19, 2015

Exhibition Events Opening Reception: Saturday, August 29th, 6 - 8:30 p.m.

Artist Talk - David Adickes: Saturday, September 12th, 2 - 4 p.m.

Artist Talk - Henri Gadbois & Leila McConnell: Saturday, September 19th, 2 - 4 p.m.

Ten Years 2006

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William Reaves Fine Art | 2143 Westheimer Road | Houston, Texas 77098 | 713.521.7500 Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm and by appointment, please call 713.521.7500 or email info@reavesart.com.

A Midcentury Montage: Art Works by Three Houston Founders To inaugurate its 10th Year Anniversary Season, William Reaves Fine Art presents an alluring montage of local midcentury masters. In Midcentury Montage the gallery features an exquisite collection of period paintings by David Adickes, accompanied by finely sculpted foodstuffs by Henri Gadbois, and recent paintings and collages by Leila McConnell. The show offers a tribute to these three Houston greats, who all have been mainstays of the Bayou City arts scene since the fifties, and are still actively engaged in creative production well into their eighth decade. Like the artists, selections in Midcentury Montage are fun, inventive and timeless. With three such esteemed local masters, the show accentuates the signature attributes of grand Houston art. As the gallery’s “season opener”, Midcentury Montage offers viewers a delightful segue into yet another highly-anticipated season of high art from the Lone Star state, continuing the hearty track record of prime Texas material that locals have come to expect from Reaves and company!

By now, we suspect that most Houstonians with even a scintilla of interest in the arts are familiar with David Adickes! Always-colorful and entertaining, Adickes represents perhaps the quintessential Texas “modernist”! While known by today’s generation as a sculptor of presidential heads and huge concrete statues, Adickes was actually one of the city’s most recognized and accomplished midcentury painters.

Originally, from Huntsville, he bounded onto the Houston scene in 1950, after completion of a wartime stint in the U.S. Army Air Corp, a degree in physics at Sam Houston State Teachers College, and subsequent art training in Paris at the storied atelier of Cubist pioneer, Fernand Leger. Talented and engaging, Adickes, along with his friend Herb Mears, introduced a newly imported “School of Paris” style to Houston’s emergent art scene. The result was an immediate embrace and instant acclaim from an ever-admiring constituency, including many of the city’s leading art patrons (such as John DeMenil and Nina Cullinan). As a “new-comer”, Adickes notched a “sell-out” at his very first local show in 1950 at the fabled Shamrock Hotel. Ruth Uhler awarded him a small, yet highly noted, one-man exhibition at the MFAH the following year that further propelled his meteoric rise on the local scene. He joined Ben DuBose at Bute Gallery, and

from there his sales and popularity continued their rapid ascent; his paintings quickly becoming coveted appointments in the homes and offices of city elites. While maintaining Houston and Dubose gallery as his “home base”, Adickes launched a series of international forays in the latter 1950s, returning to Europe (France, Spain, Italy) and then on to Japan, where he was befriended, written about and collected

by Pulitzer Prize writer, James A. Michener. He joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin for a while, leaving there after two years to travel to Tahiti to commune on the island with Gaugin’s son.

Meanwhile, he expanded gallery affiliations on both coasts, attracting high-end collectors among the rich and famous of New York, Palm Beach and Los Angeles, the likes of which included Elvis Presley and other notables! An inexhaustible painter, Adickes perfected his cubistinspired style and subject matter over a long and notable career. His oeuvre most often reflects the wiry figures for which he has especially become known (“Adickes-men”), as well as blocky still-lives replete with his classic elongated bottle forms. Many of the artist’s earliest and best examples of these subjects may be seen in this exhibition.

Always a sculptor, Adickes began to “work large” in his later career, concentrating primarily on large-scale public installations over the last several decades. In this line, the artist has successfully created concrete monuments that have now become iconic Texas landmarks, such as “Big Sam” near his native Huntsville and the majestic Stephen F. Austin statue in the Brazosport area. Today, at eighty-eight, Adickes is at work on his tallest project yet, a memorial to NASA’s astronaut program, destined for a Clear Lake installation.

In Midcentury Montage, we return to Adickes’ original work, displaying a definitive selection of the early paintings that brought him his first notoriety. These early works represent the artist’s original views and formative renditions of his most favored subjects and themes. With their distinctive style and superb workmanship, Adickes’ paintings were incredibly fresh and novel when he first introduced them to Houston in the early 1950s. Even today, they retain classic “modernist” qualities in their subject matter, style and composition.

Looking at these works today, there is little wonder why Houston’s earliest midcentury collectors clamored for Adickes’ works back then,

and given those auspicious beginnings, there should be little surprise as well that over the half-century since, David Adickes has become a household name in the Houston community.

Likewise, Henri Gadbois and Leila McConnell are also founders and longtime mainstays of the Houston art community. Like Adickes, this talented duo has contributed significantly to the quality and vibrancy of the Bayou City art scene since the 1950s. Gadbois, a native Houstonian and the son of a local painter and commercial artist, is a graduate of the University of Houston art department. McConnell is a product of the Rice University architectural program and the San Francisco School of Fine Art. The couple met and married in Houston in 1956, and have shared remarkable careers as artists and instructors ever since. Both held tenures at The Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Gadbois served over 30 years as a public school art teacher in the Houston Independent School District. They have been popular and prolific artists over a six-decade span, having their paintings avidly collected and shown by some of the city’s most prominent galleries over the years, including Cushman, DuBose, Marsters and Muth, (and now, of course, William Reaves Fine Art).

Both artists remain vital and active well into their eighties, and in Midcentury Montage we show examples of their most recent output, in Gadbois’ case, focusing on his unique ceramic still-lives (faux foods) and for McConnell, concentrating on recent collages and paintings.

While Gadbois worked in ceramics early in his career, it has only been in recent years that the artist perfected his imaginative line of “faux foods”—a sculpted selection of fresh foods and vegetables cast in ceramic. His ceramic food-forms are now proudly displayed as combination art works and exhibition artifacts on the tables of the nation’s most prominent residential museums, including Houston’s own Bayou Bend. We are proud to present these unique still-lives for the first time within a gallery context, as endearing additions to Texas art collections.

Leila McConnell is renowned as an important member of Houston’s abstract-expressionist school, her ethereal series of “sky paintings” and intimate collages rivaling those of Dorothy Hood, and ranking her

among the city’s earliest women abstractionists. In this exhibition, we examine a selection of the artist’s most recent works in both realms.

Certainly, there has been a resurgence of interest and scholarship in Midcentury Modernism in Texas. We now know that Houston artists such as Adickes, Gadbois and McConnell, as well as their colleagues within the city, were at the very forefront of the modern art revolution that transformed the city and state during that period.

The artists of Midcentury Montage are truly among the Founders of our city’s dynamic art scene of today, and as a gallery devoted to Texas art, we are indebted to each of them for their creative efforts and accomplishments over the years. More importantly, however, and as can be seen in the selections included here, Houston art-goers are equally fortunate to be the continued beneficiaries of their creative energies and output, each still clearly producing strong and engaging work.

We are proud to celebrate our Tenth Anniversary season with this distinguished trio!

- William Reaves

Leila McConnell • Aug 28 - Sept 19, 2015 No.

Artist

Title of Work

Date

Medium

Dimensions

Mixed Media Collages 1.

Leila McConnell

Afloat 2011 mixed media collage 9 x 7 inches.

2.

Leila McConnell

Dark Landscape

3.

Leila McConnell

Dark of Night 2011 mixed media collage 10 x 8 inches.

4.

Leila McConnell

Gold Bar 2011 mixed media collage 10 x 8 inches.

5.

Leila McConnell

Golden Glow 2013 mixed media collage 12 x 10 inches.

6.

Leila McConnell

It’s a Big World

2009

mixed media collage

10 x 8 inches.

7.

Leila McConnell

Mysterious Collage

2012

mixed media collage

9.5 x 7.5 inches.

8.

Leila McConnell

Night 2008 mixed media collage 9 x 6 inches.

9.

Leila McConnell

Something New

10.

Leila McConnell

Strange Night 2008 mixed media collage 10 x 8 inches.

11.

Leila McConnell

The Time Between

12.

Leila McConnell

Untitled 2015 mixed media collage 12 x 10 inches.

2011

2012

2011

mixed media collage

mixed media collage

mixed media collage

11.5 x 9.5 inches.

12 x 9.5 inches.

10 x 8 inches.

Paintings 13.

Leila McConnell

Mood 2014 oil on canvas 40 x 30 inches.

14.

Leila McConnell

The Gold Leaf 2015 oil on canvas 48 x 48 inches.

15.

Leila McConnell

Untitled 2015 oil on canvas 48 x 36 inches.

Mixed Media Collages

1. Leila McConnell, Afloat, 2011, mixed media collage, 9 x 7 inches.

2. Leila McConnell, Dark Landscape, 2011, mixed media collage, 11.5 x 9.5 inches.

3. Leila McConnell, Dark of Night, 2011, mixed media collage, 10 x 8 inches.

4. Leila McConnell, Gold Bar, 2011, mixed media collage, 10 x 8 inches.

5. Leila McConnell, Golden Glow, 2013, mixed media collage, 12 x 10 inches.

6. Leila McConnell, It’s a Big World, 2009, mixed media collage, 10 x 8 inches.

7. Leila McConnell, Mysterious Collage, 2012, mixed media collage, 9.5 x 7.5 inches.

8. Leila McConnell, Night, 2008, mixed media collage, 9 x 6 inches.

9. Leila McConnell, Something New, 2012, mixed media collage, 12 x 9.5 inches.

10. Leila McConnell, Strange Night, 2008, mixed media collage, 10 x 8 inches.

11. Leila McConnell, The Time Between, 2011, mixed media collage, 10 x 8 inches.

12. Leila McConnell, Untitled, 2015, mixed media collage, 12 x 10 inches.

Paintings

13. Leila McConnell, Mood, 2014, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches.

14. Leila McConnell, The Gold Leaf, 2015, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches.

15. Leila McConnell, Untitled, 2015, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches.

LEILA MCCONNELL (b. 1927) Leila McConnell was born in Los Angeles, California. Her family moved to Houston when she was six and, after graduating from high school, she enrolled at Rice Institute (now Rice University). At the time, Rice had no department of architecture but McConnell sought inspiration from iconic professor, James Chillman. According to McConnell, Chillman had the greatest influence on her sense of design, proportion, and the ability to actually see her art. Studying freehand drawing, design, watercolor, art, and architectural history under Chillman, McConnell excelled. After earning her bachelor of arts degree from Rice, she continued her art studies at the Museum School (now Glassell School) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

McConnell had impeccable academic training and her early paintings, both oil and pastel, were very realistic. The majority of her subject matter was either still life, figure studies, or portraits. In the summer of 1949, she attended the San Francisco School of Fine Arts and was fortunate to study under Mark Rothko. His vision and innovative instruction marked McConnell’s shift away from the realism that had previously dominated her works. After her classes with Rothki, she began to paint more abstract pieces, creating an imaginary girl in watercolor.

Realizing that she had a vivid imagination, McConnell embarked on a trip to Europe in 1960. The stucco buildings of Italy greatly impacted her vision and caused a change in her paintings. Her colors became soft and blended, often misty and portraying a sun or moon, causing the artist to deem many of her works “sky paintings.”

In 1976, McConnell began creating paper collages, a diversion from her painted works. Though small, her collages impacted the way McConnell created her paintings—her edges became harder, mixed with the mistiness of her skies and her compositions became more symmetrical. McConnell continues to paint in her unique style and develop her oeuvre of “sky” pieces.

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights 1927 Born in Los Angeles, California 1948 BA, Rice University, Houston, Texas 1949 BS, Architecture, Rice University, Houston, Texas 1949 San Francisco School of Fine Arts, San Francisco, California 1950–68 Instructor, Museum School, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas 1954–59 Worked for Houston architect, Hamilton Brown 1956 Married artist, Henri Gadbois 1960 Visited Italy Resides in Houston, Texas Selected Prizes, Awards ·

Houston Annual: Materials Prize 1954

· 1952–55 27th–30th Annual Exhibition of Works by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (prize 1954) · 1955 31st Annual Exhibition of Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas · 1957–60 32nd–35th Annual Houston Artists Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas · 1958 Texas Oil ’58, A Salute to the Oil Industry of the State by Texas Painters, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, traveled to: Bank of the Southwest, Houston; Dallas Public Library, Dallas; Republic National Bank of Dallas, Texas (catalogue) ·

DuBose Gallery, Houston, Texas

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Leslie Muth Gallery, Houston, Texas

· 1959 21st Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1959–1960, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont; Museum, Texas Tech, Lubbock; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas · 1961 23rd Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1961–1962, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont; Museum, Texas Tech, Lubbock, Texas · 1962–63 Museum School Faculty Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas · 1964 26th Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1964–1965, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Texas Western College, El Paso; University of Texas at Austin, Texas · 1986 Leila McConnell: Collage to Canvas—New Works of Paper & Paintings, Plain Folk Gallery, Houston, Texas · 2004 A Selection of Art Made in Houston 1950-1965, Brazos Projects, Brazos Bookstore, Houston, Texas · 2004–05 Rice Institute and the Visual Arts in Houston: 1900–1960, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas · 2006 Houston Art in Houston Collections: Works from 1900 to 1965, Heritage Society Museum, Houston, Texas

1954 Materials Prize, Stella, oil Selected Exhibitions

· 2006–07 Of This Vast State: Women Artists of Texas , 1900–1960, Women’s Museum, Dallas, Texas

· 1949–51 24th–26th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

· 2007 Timeless: A Retrospective of Selected Women Artists of Texas, 1940 to Present, David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, Texas; William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas; Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas

· 1951 13th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1951–1952, circulated: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas

· 2007–08 Urban Texas: Changing Images of an Evolving State, PanhandlePlains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas · 2008 Founders of Houston Art: Thirty Artists Who Led the Way, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas · 2009 Back to the Future: Elements of “Modern” in Mid-Century Texas Art, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas · 2009 Leila McConnell and Henri Gadbois: Side by Side, O’Kane Gallery, University of Houston/Downtown, Houston, Texas · 2010 Third Anniversary Show: A Tribute to Houston Artists, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas · 2010 Pioneering Women: Three Modernists in Houston—Dorothy Hood, Leila McConnell, Stella Sullivan, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas · 2010 The Presence of Light: Sky and Light in the Texas Landscape, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas · 2010 Texas Collages: A Tribute to Kurt Schwitters, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas · 2011 Southeast Texas Art: Cross-Currents and Influences, 1925–1965, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas · 2011 Lone Star Modernism: A Celebration of Mid-Century Texas Art, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas · 2011 Portrait of Houston: 1900–2011, Alliance Gallery, Houston Arts Alliance, Houston, Texas (catalogue) · 2011 Breakthrough: Sixty Years of Texas Abstraction, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas ·

2012 A Survey of Texas Modernists, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

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2013 A Tribute to Texas Rivers, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

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2013 Rhythms of Modernism, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

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2013 Summer Encore Exhibition, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

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2014 Houston Founders at City Hall Art Exhibition, City Hall, Houston, Texas

· 2014 A New Visual Vocabulary: Developments in Texas Modernism 1935-1965, One Allen Center, Lobby Gallery, Houston, Texas · 2015 Bayou City Chic: Progressive Streams of Modern Art in Houston, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas (catalogue) Selected Public Collections Menil Collection, Houston, Texas Old Jail House Art Center, Albany, Texas

About William Reaves Fine Art

H OUSTON’S T EXAS- C ENTERED G ALLERY William Reaves Fine Art, established 2006 in Houston, Texas, is dedicated to the promotion of premier Texas artists of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing particularly on historically significant artists active in the state during the period of 1900-1975. Now beginning its ninth year, the gallery showcases many of the region’s most accomplished and recognized talents, all of whom have significant connection to the state of Texas and have evidenced the highest standards of quality in their work, training, and professionalism in the field. The gallery exhibits artists working in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, works on paper, and photography. In addition to its general focus on Early Texas Art, the gallery places special emphasis on the rediscovery and presentation of early and mid-century works by Houston and South Texas artists. William Reaves Fine Art is the foremost provider of Texas Modern Art, which includes mid-century masters and pioneering expressionists working in the state.

In order to promote interest and broaden knowledge of earlier Texas art, the gallery supports related gallery talks, community events, scholarly research, and publication related to its subject, artist, and period. William Reaves Fine Art also represents a dynamic group of contemporary artists, known as the Contemporary Texas Regionalists, actively showing their works in annual gallery exhibitions as well as traveling exhibitions throughout the state. Most recently, The Houston Press voted William Reaves Fine Art Houston’s Best Art Gallery for 2013.

Additionally, William Reaves Fine Art is a comprehensive gallery offering fine art appraisals, consultation, brokerage, and sales services.

Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm and other times by appointment.

Gallery Contact: Sarah Foltz, Director sarah@reavesart.com

Ten Years 2006

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William Reaves Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Road • Houston, Texas • 77098 • www.reavesart.com Tel : 713.521.7500 • Contact : INFO@reavesart.com