Richard Stout: The Early Years

Richard Stout: The Early Years April 1 - May 7, 2011

William Reaves Fine Art

Richard Stout: The Early Years

William Reaves Fine Art offers an exquisite exhibition of early paintings by Richard Stout in honor of his receipt of CASETA’s* 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. This was the first time that this pre-eminent art history association formally recognized the career accomplishments of an abstract expressionist painter in Texas, and especially one who came to prominence in the latter half of the twentieth century. It was a fitting tribute to a remarkable Texan who has worked over six decades to produce a body of work of extraordinary quality. It was also an acknowledgement of Stout’s contributions to the growth and vitality of the Houston art scene over the 6. Stout, Green Dome, 1962 last half of the twentieth century through his distinguished career as an art instructor at The Museum School and The University of Houston.

Richard Stout is a native Texan, born in Beaumont in 1934. He completed undergraduate studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, and returned to Texas in 1957, settling in Houston and into a lifelong career as professional artist. During his time in the city, Stout exhibited at the Cushman Gallery (1957-58), the New Arts Gallery (1958-60) and later at The Meredith Long Gallery (1960-85).

In 1958, he became a member of the faculty at The Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, teaching art there for almost a decade and serving as Interim Dean of the School in 1965-66. In 1969, the artist received his MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, and joined the art faculty at The University of Houston, serving from 1969-1995.

In addition to his gallery affiliations, Stout’s works were frequently shown in important juried exhibitions throughout his career, including one-man shows at The Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, The Kansas City Art Institute, The McNay Art Museum, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, and The Museum of East Texas. Stout also showed in group exhibitions at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Dallas Museum of Art, The Witte Memorial Museum, The Menil Collection, The Delgado Museum (New Orleans), The Denver Museum of Art, The Butler Institute (Youngstown, Ohio) and The Art Institute of Chicago, among others. His works are found in the permanent collections of our state’s most prestigious museums including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Menil Collection and The McNay Art Museum.

The dozen works selected for this show represent prime examples of Stout’s earliest paintings during the late 50s and 60s.

They underscore his skillful creation of bold compositions, through his use of sensitive brushwork and striking colors to produce stellar paintings, one after the other. This is a veritable jewel of a show, offering an intimate encounter with the works of a master Texas painter. A viewing at once reveals a painterly competence and compositional command rivaled by only a few Texas greats. Houstonians are fortunate to have artists of Stout’s significance in our midst, and this small show only validates the laurels offered him over his long career by CASETA and so many others. It is a “must see” for art aficionados of the Bayou City, and a pleasure for all who love Texas art.

- Bill Reaves, Sarah Beth Wilson, and Leslie Thompson

*Center for the Study and Advancement of Early Texas Art

Interview with the Artist

Conducted by Sarah Beth Wilson and Leslie Thompson on March 22, 2011 SBW, LT: Talk about your early art education at the Art Institute in Chicago. Were there specific artists/professors who influenced you?

How would you describe your style at this period?

to get through a class without having a large stack of drawings at the end of the day. You can’t learn without practice.

I don’t think my art professors really influenced me in any way except RS: My first teachers were old hands at through theory. What influenced me as a stuteaching, but a mixture of people, mostly dent of the art institute was that the institute American. One of my earliest teachers at the was within the body of the museum. At coffee Art Institute was Kathleen Blackshear – my breaks and lunch breaks we would spend a freshman art history teacher. Of all of my lot of time in the galleries looking at paintings. teachers she was the closest to me. She I think the most influential painting for all of us taught the things the painting and drawing at that particular time in Chicago in the midteachers could only hint at. She made all of 1950s (1953-57) were a group of paintings the diagrammatic drawings for the second that Frederick Sweet, the curator, had pulled 1. Stout, Bright Storm, 1956 edition of Art Through the Ages when she into the museum: masterpieces such as Exwas its editor. Kathleen was my friend from cavation by Willem de Kooning, Rainbow by Jackson Pollock 1953 until just before her death in Navasota, Texas - her home town. and other significant paintings by the great masters of mid twentiethcentury American painting, including a magnificent O’Keefe, Dove, My first drawing teacher (figure drawing), Briggs Dyer, was a stanand work by Morris Graves. One of the other big stars of that time dard American high quality draftsman- look at it, draw it, and comwas the painter John Marin, who was a strong influence to many of pose it. My basic drawing teacher was Isabelle MacKinnon, who had us and particularly to me in my first two years. In my last two years studied with Hans Hoffman. All of our first work with her was dealing in school, I had more interest in Europeans like Arshile Gorky and with spacial relationships that were directly related to push and pull. I Nicholas de Stael. There’s always Matisse. There’s always Picasso. went on to painting in my second year with Laura Van Pappelendam; The major influences to me in sculpture were Giacometti and later a charming woman who was very enthusiastic about the whole act of David Smith. Another big influence is (Roberto) Matta, with line. painting and she encouraged people to do a lot of work. When you were at the institute, you had to do a lot of work. It was not possible (In reference to his personal painting style) The first two years

were very reflective of historic styles. I was really trying to work my way through the encyclopedia of information that every art student needs to digest. By the time I was in my junior year, I started moving through influences with surrealism and finally into the work that I think has the openness of the late Gorky which I think shows up in the drawings in this show. By 1956-57, I think my work had really found its form, so to speak, in a group of paintings that were shown earlier here at WRFA. SBW, LT: You move to Houston in the late 1950s. What factors influenced your work once you arrived in Houston? How did your style change?

RS: I moved to Houston in the fall of 1957. I think what influenced me the most was that there was a very high standard of behavior in galleries and museums in Houston at that time, which 12. Stout, Future, 1966 was led by Dr. Jermayne McAgy at the Contemporary Arts Association. The Contemporary Arts Association was one of the most rigorous, modern art organizations in the United States – there was nothing like it in Chicago. Houston at this time had close to as many art galleries as Chicago had, which was strange. I didn’t expect this. I was enchanted by the level of high style and high aspirations people had.

It was this high standard that McAgy set, which had been previously been set in Houston by Dominique de Menil, that attracted me to the city in the first place. I like the grit of the city. I like kind of can-do at-

titude and the openness of the city. Having the de Menil/McAgy team here was particularly important to me. My work at this time continued the influences I was finishing up in Chicago but became somewhat more landscape oriented. This landscape begins to tilt into space towards a horizon of some sort, which has much to do with what’s showing in the alcove space here.

SBW, LT: What artists in Houston influenced you? Was there a circle of artists in Houston with which you surrounded yourself?

RS: What artists in Houston influenced me - in my way of painting, none at all. I don’t know that there’s any one person who really influenced my hand during my mature work except maybe Gorky.

In terms of thinking and constructing, earlier influences were still relevant. I met Dorothy Hood when she was first here and had a show at Katherine Swenson gallery in 1960. Dorothy started showing with Meredith Long in 1962, about the same time I did. I was never influenced by Dorothy, but it was impossible not to look at and admire this extraordinary work. There were other young artists around, like Pat Colville, who were working on something very interesting as well.

During this early period I was close to Henri Gadbois and Leila McConnell. But I never thought they influenced my work in any way. We were on quite different paths. I never thought there was a Houston school, so to speak. We didn’t influence each other at all. It would have been too obvious. There’s a great deal of originality.

RS: These pieces are all landscapes. I’ve always been interested SBW, LT: Describe the museum climate in Houston in the 1950s and in what happens on the horizon, and what happens beyond. I was 1960s. We know the Houston Annuals ended in 1962. How did this spending a lot of time at the beach when these paintings were crechange the art world in Houston? ated. Much of the action in my work tends to be in the middle ground and in the distance; to such a degree that I’ll break up this ground RS: It was interesting. Galleries were interestinto a series of tectonic plates that move ing. People went places. Houston was tiny. toward the horizon line - these break ups form And you had to schedule things correctly or independent memories of things. I think this you wouldn’t have anybody at your event. The was strongly influenced by a work I saw at symphony wouldn’t want to schedule anything the Menil by Max Ernst, which is hanging now when there was a museum opening. If you (Day and Night, 1941-42). It’s a dark landlook at the Frank Freed painting of the opening scape with window sections. I thought that was night at the contemporary arts museum you an interesting Idea. I could run with that. All can see what a mob scene it was. Openings at those break ups had something to do with that museums and galleries here are mob scenes. 7. Stout, Untitled (Mars), 1963 particular painting by Ernst.

You don’t see much of this in lots of other places. It’s a major social and cultural thing. I think that’s very impres- Everyone in Houston from the beginning was interested more in the sive. And you met everyone! And if you’re young and reasonably abstract. The big push came from people like Emma Richardson good looking, they’d talk to you.

Cherry and Ola McNeill Davidson. They were the big influences early on. They brought the younger people in Houston in contact with The Houston Annuals ended in 1962 when James Sweeney decided people like Moholy-Nagy and Gyorgy Kepes. Houston is so different he wanted to do the bigger shows. But I always thought the museum, from Dallas – it has this unfinished quality to it. It’s a crazy quilt. and for that matter all museums, should have a major show for the artists in the city - every year. What it did is it forced everything to the galleries. The artists weren’t really happy about this. There weren’t many places to exhibit.

SBW, LT: Talk about your work that will be showing in our alcove gallery show. What is it about?

Richard Stout Selected Biographical and Career Highlights • • • • • •

1934, Born in Beaumont, Texas – currently lives in Houston, Texas 1957, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, B.F.A. 1969, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, M.F.A. 1969 – 74, Instructor, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 1975 – 95, Professor, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 2010, CASETA Artist of the Year (The Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art)

Selected Exhibitions • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

1951, Beaumont Art League, Beaumont, Texas 1953, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 1955 – 78, Beaumont Art Museum Tri-State Annual, Beaumont, Texas (regular exhibitions) 1956, 1014 Art Center, Chicago, Illinois (solo) 1963 – 85, Meredith Long & Co., Houston, Texas (regular solo exhibitions) 1965, Texas Painting and Sculpture Annual, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas 1968 – 70, Contemporary American Art, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, toured Australia 1973, Three Americans, Texas Fine Arts Association 1974, Abstract Painting in Houston, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas 1975, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas (solo) 1975, Five Painters, Pollock Galleries, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 1985, Fresh Paint: The Houston School, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas 1997, Richard Stout: Paintings & Drawings, Museum of East Texas, Lufkin, Texas (solo) 2007, Texas Modern, Martin Museum of Art, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 2010, Richard Stout: Alternate Realities, The Beeville Art Museum, Beeville, Texas (solo) 2010, Richard Stout: Paintings – Sky, Sea & Earth, Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas (solo) 2011, Southeast Texas Art: Cross-Currents and Influences 1925 - 1965, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas

Selected Public Collections • • • • • • •

Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas Butler Institute of Art, Youngstown, Ohio Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas McNay Museum, San Antonio, Texas Menil Collection, Houston, Texas The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

Richard Stout: The Early Years Exhibition Checklist Artist 1. Stout 2. Stout 3. Stout 4. Stout 5. Stout 6. Stout 7. Stout 8. Stout 9. Stout 10. Stout 11. Stout 12. Stout

Title

Bright Storm

Dark Storm

I Went Down By the Sea Flower of Unending Darkness Magnolia

Green Dome

Untitled (Mars)

Untitled

Untitled

Mexico

Amalfi

Future

Date

1956 1956 1959 1961 1961 1962 1963 1965 1965 1965/66 1966 1966

Medium pastel/paper pastel/paper oil/canvas oil/canvas oil/canvas oil/canvas oil/canvas oil/canvas acrylic/canvas acrylic/canvas acrylic/canvas acrylic/canvas

Size(inches)

25x38 22 3/4 x34 1/2 16x30 24x24 25x30 20x28 28x40 18x24 22x28 30x25 24x30 24x36

1. Richard Stout Bright Storm, 1956 pastel/paper 25x38 in.

2. Richard Stout Dark Storm, 1956 pastel/paper 22 3/4 x34 1/2 in.

3. Richard Stout I Went Down By the Sea, 1959 oil/canvas 16x30 in.

4. Richard Stout Flower of Unending Darkness, 1961 oil/canvas 24x24 in.

5. Richard Stout Magnolia, 1961 oil/canvas 25x30 in.

6. Richard Stout Green Dome, 1962 oil/canvas 20x28 in.

7. Richard Stout Untitled (Mars), 1963 oil/canvas 28x40 in.

8. Richard Stout Untitled, 1965 oil/canvas 18x24 in.

9. Richard Stout Untitled, 1965 acrylic/canvas 22x28 in.

10. Richard Stout Mexico, 1965/66 acrylic/canvas 30x25 in.

11. Richard Stout Amalfi, 1966 acrylic/canvas 24x30 in.

12. Richard Stout Future, 1966 acrylic/canvas 24x36 in.