bayou city chic: progressive streams of modern art in houston, 1950-1980

F e b r ua ry 14 - M a rc h 8, 2014 • W i l l i a M r eav es F i n e a rt

Charles SchorreReflected Sunset Sounds

Dorothy Hood Primal

Jack BoyntonUntitled 3

Bill CondonHouston Montage

John GuerinColumns

Bayou City ChiC: Progressive streams of modern art in Houston, 1950-1980

A full exhibition catalogue is available at reavesart.com. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-5pm, and by appointment, please call (713) 521-7500.

Special Events:February 14-15, 10am-5pm: Collector Preview WeekendFebruary 15, 5-8pm: Opening Reception

Lamar BriggsIbiza-Windsong, XXXI


on view February 14 - March 8, 2014

From 1950 to 1980, during three momentous decades, Houston became the titular capital of “modern art” in Texas, attracting a loose-knit colony of important painters nurtured in a burgeoning community of avant-garde galleries, collectors, museums and university art departments. Looking back, it is evident now that this thirty-year span represented one of the most vital and productive periods of the city’s cultural evolution, a “coming of age” of the Houston art scene which paralleled the region’s dramatic rise in population, economic influence and social vitality. The current exhibition, Bayou City Chic, examines this watershed era, presenting an extraordinary survey of paintings by artists associated with the city’s remarkable mid-century journey, (as well as an interesting sampler of works by contemporaneous Texas modernists of the period whose output interfaced with that of the Houston scene). With substantive works by many of Houston’s most esteemed modernists, Bayou City Chic captures the energy and innovation of an important period. It warrants attention as 2014’s first “destination exhibition” for local collectors and aficionados of Texas modernism, offering what is certain to be one of the most informative and inspiring art shows of the current year.

As was explored in the Ideson Library’s recent exhibition on Emma Richardson Cherry and her protégé’s, much of city’s mid-century art vitality can be traced to the efforts of an enlightened “older guard” of artists and arts leaders who set the stage for growth and innovation in the decades before. Led by progressive artists such as Cherry, O’Neil-Davidson and others, and bolstered by the newly-formed Museum of Fine Arts and its venerable director, James Chillman, Houston forged a small, yet active arts community in the first-half of the twentieth century.Despite the intervening challenges of two world wars and a great depression, the fledgling arts scene took root within the city, flowered in the decades of the 20s and 30s, and prospered steadily thereafter, pausing only for a brief respite during the “war-years”. Thereafter, with the Great War behind and the depression abated, Houston sat poised to renew its advance on the world of art. And advance it did, pitched forward in the ensuing quarter-century through a “perfect storm” of

new artists, collectors, galleries and art institutions.

While the post-war economic boom and accompanying social transitions gave renewed energy to the city’s art fortunes in these years, it was the quality of Houston’s artists and the significance of their output which gave the substance and definition to it all! Over the thirty years considered here, the Bayou City became home to a growing, loosely-connected “colony” of artists (perhaps more aptly described as a “collection” of artists) - a diverse blend of home-grown talent and accomplished émigrés. While collegial and socially active with one another, for the most part, Houston’s mid-century artists still worked with an independent and individualistic orientation. As demonstrated by the MFAH’s Fresh Paint exposé in 1986, Houston artists of the time proved to be less a definable “school” of painters, with works bound by common aesthetic attributes, and more a “confederation” of artists pursuing their own creative visions. Relying on the virtues of their personal visions and artistic prowess, however, the best of these Houston-based artists persevered to build significant paths through the regional art world of the 50s, 60s and beyond, their works commanding sound reviews and attention, and their collective successes helping the city to eventually achieve a state of “critical mass” within the art world. It is fair to say now that Houston artists of the period provided the collective strength and synergy to push the Bayou City beyond mere provincial art interests and into the realm of national and even international acclaim. Indeed, over the thirty years addressed in this exhibition, Houston rode the creative coat-tails of its many noteworthy resident artists to become America’s “third coast”, a major arts destination on the national front.

Given the penchant of these local painters for experimentation with new media and the divergent styles (see the range of Dick Wray examples), the particular forms of modern art which blossomed in the Bayou City during these years were never static. Pushed somewhat in cadence with the general artistic advancements of the larger American scene, Houston’s art of this thirty-year period morphed through a series of stylistic progressions. The hallmarks of Houston painting came to be


its strength and diversity, with viewers encountering works as bold and varied as the artists producing them. It bestowed a rich and interesting mix of modernist materials in the hearts and minds of the Bayou City.

The city garnered initial notoriety as a regional center for the avant-garde based upon the success of its first wave of “modernists” in the late 40s and early 50s. Led by the likes David Adickes, Lowell Collins, Bill Condon, Frank Freed, Henri Gadbois, Herb Mears, Chester Snowden, Stella Sullivan and others, these artists brought Houstonians a brand of cubist-inspired abstraction, richly imbued with color and texture. Popular and cutting edge for its time, the work found favor with many post-war consumers.

The late 50s ushered in expressionist modes, introduced to the town by artists such as Jack Boynton, Richard Stout, Dick Wray, as well as their female counter-parts, Dorothy Hood and Leila McConnell. Other notables, such as Earl Staley, Charles Schorre, Otis Huband followed suit in the later 60s. These artists moved Houston arts into the realm of complete abstraction, covering an expressionist gamut which ranged from highly-charged, landscape-inspired canvases, to more sensual renderings attentive to light and atmosphere, to frenetic figuratively-inspired expressions.

Their success and creative efforts set the stage for subsequent waves of expressionist talent including artists such as Harvey Bott, Perry House and Ibsen Espada who continued this tradition of strong abstractions in the late 70s, often incorporating iconographic elements into their own expressionist modes. Likewise, in the 70s, artists such as Lucas Johnson, Robert Morris and Guy Johnson introduced a strain of surrealism into the Houston scene, their works integrating both abstract and representational elements to create intriguing, messianic narratives.

Bayou City Chic is a celebration of these artists and their times. The exhibition is a tribute to local genius and sustained artistic accomplishment. It offers a visual treatise of the natural progressions of Houston art at a time which may now be heralded as the high-water point of a century past. At William Reaves Fine Art, we are pleased to

represent many of the legendary Houston painters of this period, but it is also our privilege to work with other individual artists such as Ibsen Espada and Earl Staley, as well as to collaborate with other important galleries in the city to bring outstanding works of their veteran Houston artists to the fore including Harvey Bott (courtesy of Anya Tish Gallery) and Perry House (courtesy of D.M. Allison Art). Together, it reminds us of the wealth of truly chic artists who have prospered in our midst, and reinforces our feelings of good fortune to be a part of today’s thriving Bayou City arts scene.

It all adds up to an engaging “must see” exhibition. We invite patrons to join us for Bayou City Chic and encourage serious collectors to consider these distinguished Houston artists as valued additions to important assemblages of regional and American modernism. Enjoy!

Bill ReavesPresident, William Reaves Fine Art

Bayou City ChiC: Progressive streams of modern art in Houston, 1950-1980februar y 14 - march 8, 2014

No. Artist Title of Work Date Medium Dimensions (in.)

1 David adickes Still Life with Yellow Bird 1958 oil on board 16 x 9

2 David adickes Still Life for Ann Holmes 1957 pen, ink and oil on canvas 24 x 16

3 David adickes Untitled (Portrait) c.1965 oil on board 31½ x 19

4 David adickes Untitled (Tall Men in Striped Tunics) no date oil on board 28½ x 15½

5 Gertrude barnstone Untitled nude 1 c.1960 ink on paper 23 x 29

6 Gertrude barnstone Untitled nude 2 c.1960 ink on paper 36 x 24

7 John biggers The Sleepers (Three Figures) 1951 pen and ink 20 x 30

8 hJ bott "Net" Ball Flak, from the Gridlock Series 1984-85 mixed media on canvas 63 x 49

9 Jack boynton Untitled (3) 1955 gouache on board 22 x 14

10 lamar briggs Ibiza/Windsong XXXI 1981 acrylic on canvas 60 x 84

11 David brownlow White Mission 1957 oil on board 24 x 40

12 lowell collins Figure 1958 encaustic on board 48 x 6

13 bill condon Houston Montage 1969 oil on canvas 19½ x 15¾

14 ben culwell Untitled (Adrenaline Hour Series) c.1942 mixed media 9 x 12

15 Don edelman Still Life 1953 oil on board 19¾ x 25¾

16 ibsen espada Marioneta 1987 mixed media on canvas 60½ x 33½

17 ibsen espada Modern Quilt III 2000 tempera, ink, and oil on canvas 60 x 48

18 ibsen espada Untitled 2010 oil crayon and ink on rice paper 26½ x 38½

19 ibsen espada La Torcha Rota, AP 1992 multi-plate color etching 20 x 24

20 seymour Fogel Buzzards 1953 oil on masonite 20 x 24

21 seymour Fogel Untitled (Angel verso) 1954 mixed media on masonite 22 x 43

22 Michael Frary Tiger's Eye c.1966 acrylic, mixed media on board 50 x 48

23 Frank Freed Picasso 1957 oil on canvas board 10 x 8

24 Frank Freed Untitled (Building with Three Archways) n.d. oil on canvas 18 x 14

25 henri Gadbois Fire 1958 oil on canvas 39 x 52

26 John Guerin Columns 1955 oil on canvas 36 x 30

27 Dorothy hood Orb’s Flora VI c.1972 oil on canvas 60 x 70

28 Dorothy hood Primeval 1988 oil on canvas 91 x 70½

29 Perry house No Title 1983 acrylic on canvas 60 x 48

30 Perry house Untitled 1 1983 gouache on paper 12 x 16


32 Perry house Untitled 3 1983 acrylic, gouache on paper 12 x 16


34 Perry house Untitled 5 1984 tempera on paper 15 x 20

35 Perry house Unititled 6 1983 gouache on paper 15 x 20

36 Otis huband Five Large Considerations No. 4 1990 oil on canvas 68 x 44

37 lucas Johnson Untitled 1970-80 oil on canvas 92 x 47

38 robert ivan lockard Untitled (Cubist Trees) 1939 watercolor 15¼ x 11¼

39 robert ivan lockard Untitled (Landscape Variation 1) 1939 watercolor 11¼ x 15½

40 Ken luce Construction (Homage to Juan Torres Garcia) 1987 assembled wood, acrylic on base 41 x 12½ x 8

41 Ken luce The Game 1989 assembled found wood, plastic, steel 30½ x 22 x 4

42 Paul Maxwell Still Life in Black on Orange Background 1966 acrylic on canvas 24 x 24

43 Paul Maxwell Untitled (Blue Bottles) 1966 oil on canvas 25 x 30

44 leila Mcconnell Eclipse in Blue 1968 oil on canvas 24 x 24

45 leila Mcconnell The Next Step 1988 oil on canvas 48 x 36

46 herb Mears Mexican Cathedral n.d. oil on board 23 x 36

47 robert Morris Fly Over I (House with Jet) 1973 acrylic on canvas 6 x 8

48 robert Morris Hangers On III (Jet Plane with Helicopter) 1974 acrylic on board 12 x 9

49 robert Morris Hangers On IV (Upside Down People) 1974 acrylic on board 7½ x 10

50 robert Morris Fly Over II (Ostrich) c.1970 acrylic on canvas 5 x 7

51 Margaret Putnam Untitled c.1955 oil on canvas 24½ x 17¾

52 bill reily Counterpoint n.d. casein on canvas 22 x 29

53 robert rogan Garden n.d. duco on board 30 x 48


54 robert rogan Panhandle Fields n.d. oil on canvas 30 x 36

55 charles schorre Reflected Sunset Sounds 1981 acrylic on canvas 60 x 60

56 charles schorre Dove n.d. watercolor 17¾ x 23½

57 charles schorre Untitled 1973 mixed media collage 30 x 30

58 chester snowden Untitled (Orchestra Scene) c.1960 oil on canvas 23½ x 29½

59 chester snowden Untitled (Red Factory with Trees) n.d. oil on board 18 x 24

60 earl staley Reconstruction Series: The Sign 1975-2001 mixed media on canvas 49 x 43

61 richard stout Bolivar Roads 1985 acrylic on canvas 50 x 72

62 richard stout Discipline in Faith: Okada 1985 acrylic on canvas 24 x 20

63 richard stout Fourth Day 1963 oil on canvas 33½ x 48

64 richard stout Green Dome 1962 oil on canvas 20 x 28

65 stella sullivan Bottles 1953 oil on canvas 28 x 20

66 McKie trotter Earthscape #14 c.1959 oil on canvas 38 x 30

67 McKie trotter Nocturnal c.1959 casein on masonite 48 x 21

68 arthur turner Chimayo Imp. #20 1975 prisma color pencil 16 x 16

69 arthur turner Prism Drawing #8 n.d. prisma color pencil on paper 24 x 17

70 Dick Wray No Good Black Magic 1962 mixed media 16¼ x 20¼

71 Dick Wray Untitled (1267) 2004 watercolor 12 x 16

72 Dick Wray Untitled (1277), ed. 10/20 1995 etching and watercolor on paper 10 x 12


74 Dick Wray Untitled (1284) 1994 watercolor, gouache, xerox paper 18 x 24

75 Dick Wray Untitled (1227), 6-6 1987 monoprint 44 x 30


77 Dick Wray Untitled 1984 mixed media on handmade paper 39½ x 30

78 Dick Wray Untitled (abstract with figures) 1987 mixed media on tissue paper 17 x 14

79 Dick Wray Untitled (Houston) 1991 watercolor on tissue paper 17 x 13¾

80 Dick Wray Untitled 1995 mixed media on paper 15 x 20


81 Dick Wray Untitled (Mr. Crow above car) 1993 woodblock print 13 x 16

82 Dick Wray Untitled (Mr. Crow exploding with car, cathedral) 1985 woodblock print 13 x 14½

83 Dick Wray Untitled (Geisha with Mr. Crow) 1985 woodblock print 13 x 14½

84 Dick Wray Untitled (Mr. Crow on car with airplane) 1993 woodblock print 13 x 16

85 Dick Wray Untitled (scene with hand) c.1969 etching on handmade paper 19½ x 23

86 Dick Wray Untitled (portrait) c.1990 bubblejet print 5¼ x 8

87 Dick Wray Untitled (portrait) c.1990 bubblejet print 4½ x 7

88 Dick Wray Untitled (portrait) c.1990 bubblejet print 5½ x 8

89 Dick Wray Untitled (1224) 1984 monoprint, oil on paper 42 x 30


2. David adickes, Still Life for Ann Holmes, 1957, pen, ink, oil on canvas, 24 x 16 inches.

1. David adickes, Still Life with Yellow Bird, 1958, oil on board, 16 x 9 inches.

3. David adickes, Untitled (Tall Men in Striped Tunics), n.d., oil on board, 28 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches.

4. David adickes, Untitled (Portrait), c.1965, oil on board, 31 1/2 x 19 inches.

6. Gertrude barnstone, Untitled nude 2, c.1960, ink on paper, 36 x 24 inches.

5. Gertrude barnstone, Untitled nude 1, c.1960, ink on paper, 23 x 29 inches.

7. John biggers, The Sleepers (Three Figures), 1951, pen and ink, 20 x 30 inches.

9. Jack boynton, Untitled (3), gouache on board, 22 x 14 inches.

8. hJ bott, “Net” Ball Flak, from the Gridlock Series, 1984-85, mixed media on canvas, 63 x 49 inches.

10. lamar briggs, Ibiza/Windsong XXXI, 1981, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 84 inches.

11. David brownlow, White Mission, 1957, oil on board, 24 x 40 inches.

12. lowell collins, Figure, 1958, encaustic on board, 48 x 6 inches.

13. bill condon, Houston Montage, 1969, oil on canvas, 19 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches.

14. ben culwell, Untitled (Adrenaline Hour Series), c.1942, mixed media on paper, 9 x 12 inches.

15. Don edelman, Still Life, 1953, oil on board, 19 3/4 x 25 3/4 inches.

16. ibsen espada, Marioneta, 1987, mixed media on canvas, 60 1/2 x 33 1/2 inches.

17. ibsen espada, Modern Quilt II, 2000, tempera, ink, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches.

19. ibsen espada, La Torcha Rota, artist proof, 1992, multi-plate color etching, 20 x 24 inches.18. ibsen espada, Untitled, 2010, oil crayon and ink on rice paper,

26 1/2 x 38 1/2 inches.

21. seymour Fogel, Untitled (Angel verso), 1954, mixed media on masonite, 22 x 43 inches.

20. seymour Fogel, Buzzards, 1953, oil on masonite, 20 x 24 inches.

reverse side of Untitled (Angel verso)

22. Michael Frary, Tiger’s Eye, c.1966, acrylic, mixed media on board, 50 x 48 inches.

23. Frank Freed, Picasso, 1957, oil on canvas board, 10 x 8 inches.

24. Frank Freed, Untitled (Building with Three Archways), n.d., oil on canvas, 18 x 14 inches.

25. henri Gadbois, Fire, 1958, oil on canvas, 39 x 52 inches. 26. John Guerin, Columns, 1955, oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches.

27. Dorothy hood, Orb’s Flora VI, c.1972, oil on canvas, 60 x 70 inches.

28. Dorothy hood, Primal, 1988, oil on canvas, 91 x 70 1/2 inches.

30. Perry house, Untitled 1, 1983, gouache on paper, 12 x 16 inches.

29. Perry house, No Title, 1983, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches.

top right32. Perry house, Untitled 3, 1983, acrylic and gouache on paper, 12 x 16 inches.

top left31. Perry house, Untitled 2, 1983, gouache on paper, 12 x 16 inches.

right33. Perry house, Untitled 4, 1983, gouache on paper, 15 x 20 inches.

35. Perry house, Untitled 6, 1983, gouache on paper, 15 x 20 inches.

34. Perry house, Untitled 5, 1984, tempera on paper, 15 x 20 inches.

37. lucas Johnson, Untitled, 1970-80, oil on canvas, 92 x 47 inches.

36. Otis huband, Five Large Considerations No. 4, 1990, mixed media and oil on canvas, 68 x 44 inches.

39. robert ivan lockard, Untitled (Landscape Variation 1), 1939, watercolor on paper, 11 1/4 x 15 1/2 inches.

38. robert ivan lockard, Untitled (Cubist Trees), 1939, watercolor on paper, 15 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches.

40. Ken luce, Construction, Homage to Juan Torres Garcia, 1987, assembled wood, acrylic on base, 41 x 12 1/2 x 8 inches.

41. Ken luce, The Game, 1989, assembled found wood, plastic, steel, 30 1/2 x 22 x 4 inches.

42. Paul Maxwell, Still Life in Black on Orange Back-ground, 1966, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches.

43. Paul Maxwell, Untitled (Blue Bottles), 1966, oil on canvas, 25 x 30 inches.

44. leila Mcconnell, Eclipse in Blue, 1968, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches.

45. leila Mcconnell, The Next Step, 1988, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches.

46. herb Mears, Mexican Cathedral, n.d., oil on board, 23 x 36 inches.

47. robert Morris, Flyover I (House with Jet), 1973, acrylic on canvas, 6 x 8 inches.

48. robert Morris, Hangers On III (Jet Plane with Helicopter), 1974, acrylic on board, 12 x 9 inches.

50. robert Morris, Fly Over II (Ostrich), c.1970, acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches.

49. robert Morris, Hangers On IV (Upside Down People), 1974, acrylic on board, 7 1/2 x 10 inches.

51. Margaret Putnam, Untitled, c.1955, oil on canvas, 24 1/2 x 17 3/4 inches.

52. bill reily, Counterpoint, n.d., casein on canvas, 22 x 29 inches.

53. robert rogan, Garden, n.d., duco on board, 30 x 48 inches.

54. robert rogan, Panhandle Fields, n.d., oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches.

56. charles schorre, Dove, n.d., watercolor, 17 3/4 x 23 1/2 inches.

55. charles schorre, Reflected Summer Sounds, 1981, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 1/2 inches.

57. charles schorre, Untitled, 1973, collage on canvas, 30 x 30 inches.

59. chester snowden, Untitled (Red Factory with Trees), n.d., oil on board, 18 x 24 inches.

58. chester snowden, Untitled (Orchestra Scene), c.1960, oil on canvas, 23 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches.

60. earl staley, Reconstruction Series: The Sign, 1975-2001, mixed media on canvas, 49 x 43 inches.

61. richard stout, Bolivar Roads, 1985, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 72 inches.

62. richard stout, Discipline in Faith: Okada, 1985, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 20 inches.

63. richard stout, Fourth Day, 1963, oil on canvas, 33 1/2 x 48 inches.

64. richard stout, Green Dome, 1962, oil on canvas, 20 x 28 inches.

65. stella sullivan, Bottles, 1953, oil on canvas, 28 x 20 inches.

66. McKie trotter, Earthscape #14, c. 1959, oil on canvas, 38 x 30 inches.

67. McKie trotter, Nocturnal, c.1959, casein on masonite, 48 x 21 inches.

68. arthur turner, Chimayo Imp. #20, 1975, prisma color on paper, 16 x 16 inches.

69. arthur turner, Prism Drawing #8, n.d., prisma color on paper, 24 x 17 inches.

70. Dick Wray, No Good Black Magic, 1962, mixed media on canvas, 16 1/4 x 20 1/4 inches.

Dick Wray:a survey of tHe artist’s Works on PaPer

71. Dick Wray, Untitled (1267), 2004, watercolor on paper, 12 x 16 inches.

72. Dick Wray, Untitled (1277), ed. 10/20, 1995, etching and watercolor, 10 x 12 inches.


74. Dick Wray, Untitled (1284), 1994, watercolor, gouache on xerox paper, 18 x 24 inches.

75. Dick Wray, Untitled (1227), 6-6, 1987, monoprint, 44 x 30 inches.


77. Dick Wray, Untitled, 1984, mixed media on artist’s handmade paper, 39 1/2 x 30 inches.

78. Dick Wray, Untitled (abstract with figures), 1987, mixed media on tissue paper, 17 x 14 inches.

79. Dick Wray, Untitled (Houston), 1991, watercolor on tissue paper, 17 x 13 3/4 inches.

80. Dick Wray, Untitled, 1995, mixed media on paper, 15 x 20 inches.

81. Dick Wray, Untitled (Mr. Crow above car), 1993, woodblock print, 13 x 16 inches.

82. Dick Wray, Untitled (Mr. Crow exploding with car, cathedral), 1985, woodblock print, 13 x 14 1/2 inches.

83. Dick Wray, Untitled (Geisha with Mr. Crow), 1985, woodblock print, 13 x 14 1/2 inches.

84. Dick Wray, Untitled (Mr. Crow on car with airplane), 1993, woodblock print, 13 x 16 inches.

85. Dick Wray, Untitled (scene with hand), c.1969, etching on handmade paper, 19 1/2 x 23 inches.

87. Dick Wray, Untitled (portrait), c.1990, bubblejet print, 4 1/2 x 7 inches.



89. Dick Wray, Untitled (1224), 1984, monoprint, oil on paper, 42 x 30 inches.

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bayou city chic: progressive streams of modern art in houston, 1950-1980

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