General

Works of Painter Jerry Bywaters to be on exhibit at WFMA at MSU

07 January 2009
3 min read

Opening: January 16, 2009

Exhibition dates: January 16 - March 14

Painter Jerry Bywaters was equal parts historian and artist.

His creative works - borne primarily from his observations of life in the Southwest in the 1930s and 1940s - are compelling not only for their artistic merit, but also for the cultural, social and political history captured in the images.

Much like modern-day photojournalists record images that represent the times we live in today, Bywaters (1906-1089) was an interpreter of a regional history that is too often described in over-simplified cowboys-and-Indians terms. His images speak of the technology of the day, the variety and depth of arts and culture, the region's unique multi-culturalism and - perhaps most importantly - the aspects of life in the Southwest that were fading into history before his eyes.

The Museum's first exhibit of 2009, Jerry Bywaters, Lone Star Printmaker, focuses on a life spent studying and participating in the culture of the American Southwest.

Dallas painter and art figure Professor Jerry Bywaters served as a faculty member at Southern Methodist University's Division of Fine arts for 35 years and was Director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts from 1943 to 1964.

The exhibit, timed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth, explores different facets of Bywater's landscapes, architecture and urban themes, portraiture and genre scenes.

Jerry Bywaters, Lone Star Printmaker features prints from the Meadows Museum permanent collection, as well as paintings and watercolors on loan from the Bywaters family's private collection in Dallas - additions that will provide a broader understanding of the artist's work.

Jerry Bywaters, Lone Star Printmaker was exhibited at the Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University November 30, 2007 - March 2, 2008. The exhibition traveled to the Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin prior to its presentation at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University.

The publication of the like-titled book, Jerry Bywaters, Lone Star Printmaker, by Southern Methodist University Press marks an important moment in the history of Texas art. It is the first true catalogue raisonnÚ of a Texas printmaker and serves as a benchmark for all others to follow. Author Ellen Buie Niewyk has chronicled Bywaters' life as Dallas's most enthusiastic proponent of the Texas Regionalist movement and his role in the creation of the Lone Star Printmakers. This book is an important research tool for anyone interested in the development of Texas art from the 1930s and '40s.

Further educational materials from the Jerry Bywaters Collection on Art of the Southwest will accompany the exhibition courtesy of the Harmon Arts Library of SMU's Meadows School of the Arts. The Jerry Bywaters Collection consists of catalogs, clippings, correspondence, photographs, slides, mural studies, and works of art on paper amassed by the artist. He began collecting in the late 1920s and continued to do so during his career as an artist, critic, curator, museum director, and teacher.

Major funding for this exhibition has been provided by The Meadows Foundation. Additional funding for the publication was provided by Margaret McDermott and the Trustees of the Eugene McDermott Foundation and the Texas Art Collectors Organization (TACO).

WFMA recognizes Citibank for sponsoring the Jerry Bywaters exhibition and reception in Wichita Falls.

For more information about Jerry Bywaters, Lone Star Printmaker at WFMA, please contact WFMA at 940-692-0923, e-mail wfma@msutexas.edu

or go to www.msutexas.edu/wfma.