The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 92, July 1988 - April, 1989 Page: 472

Southwestern Hzstorical Quarterly

Gentlings' Of Birds and Texas. " It is apparent that this book has at
its core the symbiotic relationship between men and birds. And John
Graves's personal essay further emphasizes this point, placing the Gent-
lings' fascination with birds, and the resulting paintings, within the
mysterious human-animal relationship that he has so successfully pon-
dered on other occasions.
This book, in sum, is worth the purchase price, even if only for the
fifty large color reproductions of the Gentlings' paintings. But in fact it
contains much more than that. It is the mature work of four of Texas's
most talented and creative artists, a mammoth accomplishment of in-
tensity and depth, of dedication and single-mindedness, that could
only have been carried out by such renaissance men.
Texas State Historical Assoczation RON TYLER
"'The Genthngs auctioned the Audubon watercolor at Sotheby's in New York on May 28,
1987, for $253,000 See John James Audubon, A Pair ofBoat-tailed Grackles, in Important Amen-
can Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture (auction catalogue; New York: Sotheby's, 1987), Lot 38.
Mary Vespa, "Twins Scott and Stuart Gentling Sell Off a High-Priced Audubon and Give Wing
to Their Own Bird Book," People Weekly, XXVII (June 15, 1987), 117; Donna Pate, "The Gent-
lings Evoking Audubon," Ultra, VI (Aug., 1987), 12
Opposite page: Drawing study for Crested Caracara (detail) by Scott Gentlir, ,
1986. Pencil on paper, 20 x 26 inches. This drawing, which was a study for tre
painting that became plate XXXVII in Of Bzrds and Texas, features the Crested
Caracara, a member of the falcon family. It is this bird, standing on a cactus
with a serpent in its beak, that is a symbol of both ancient and modern Mexico.
In the finished painting one of the birds is attempting to break through the
shell of a Texas tortoise. In the background of the drawing is the Spanish mis-
sion at Gohad, Texas, site of the execution of Colonel James W. Fannin and
over 300 of his fellow Texans on the orders of Mexican General Santa Anna
during the Texas Revolution. This symbol-laden painting was made in 1986 in
honor of the Texas sesquicentennial, which celebrated 150 years of Texan
independence.

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