HETAG, Number 5, July 2016 Page: 4 of 8
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HETAG: The Houston Earlier Texas Art Group
Houston Art History Reference Bookshelf:
Looking at art is the best way to learn about it, but sometimes you want to read about it too. When
it comes to Texas art from the CASETA era (40 or more years before the current year), you can
find a good starter list of books (and lots of other things too) at the Reference tab at the CASETA
website (click the link at the bottom of the page). Here are a few titles to consult if you want to
read more about earlier Houston art:
Midcentury Modern Art in Texas by Katie Robinson Edwards (Univ of Texas, 2014). It
doesn't get any better than this. Katie has said that the first image in her book, and the last, are
both works by Houston Artist, Robert Preusser, and she gives us two full chapters, because
Houston was so prominent in bringing modem art to Texas. We're grateful to her for saying so
(but we're not surprised!).
Texas: 150 Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston by Alison de Lima Greene
(Houston: MFAH, 2000). As is clear from the title, this one covers the whole state, but there is
also lots of valuable information specifically on Houston - and lots of images of art and people of
interest. Plus, there are useful biographies and a comprehensive list of exhibitions of Texas art
that were mounted at MFAH from even before it had its own building.
Fresh Paint: the Houston School by Barbara Rose and Susie Kalil (Texas Monthly Press, 1985).
This is the catalog of an exhibition held at MFAH, which was a point-in-time selection of some of
the artists working in the city in the 1980s. The introductory essays by Rose and Kalil still provide
a useful overview of art and the art scene in Houston to 1985.
Emma Richardson Cherry: Houston's First Modern Artist by Danielle Burns, Loraine Stuart
and Randy Tibbits (Houston Public Library, 2013). The catalog for a retrospective of the work o f
Emma Richardson Cherry, with essays on her careers as an artist and civic leader.
Left Bank on the Bayou: Houston Avant-garde Art and Theatre in the 1930s by Mark
Cervenka, Susan J. Baker and Randy Tibbits (University of Houston Downtown, 2014). Another
exhibition catalog that focuses on a group of Houston modernist artists, including Gene Charlton,
Carden Bailey, Nione Carlson, Robert Preusser, Frank Dolej ska and Forrest Bess, associated with
the innovative theatre director and producer, Margo Jones, in the late 1930s.
This WAS Contemporary Art: Fine and Decorative Arts in Houston 1945-1965 by Ginger
Berni, Tam Kiehnhoff, Ben Koush, Randy Tibbits and Linda Reaves (The Heritage Society, 2016
forthcoming). The latest addition to the bookshelf will be this fully illustrated exhibition catalog,
with essays, looking at the richness of Houston art and design at midcentury.
Here's the CASETA link to more books on early Texas art. While you're there check out the
other research resources listed at the newly redesigned and enhanced CASETA website:http://www.caseta.org/history-reference
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Houston Earlier Texas Art Group. HETAG, Number 5, July 2016, periodical, July 2016; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1222954/m1/4/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Houston Earlier Texas Art Group.