The Jerry Bywaters Collection on Art of the Southwest, Bywaters Special Collections, SMU.
One of the most famous Texas paintings of the 20th Century came from Dallas-based artist Jerry Bywaters.
Bywaters was born in Paris, Texas and was a professor at Southern Methodist University. He lived here until his death in 1989.
In the 1930s, he painted “Oil Field Girls,” which is in the Blanton Museum in Austin. But he also worked to make art affordable for everyone. Bywaters began making lithographs in the 1930s in an effort to popularize Texas art and make the work available to anyone.
He was part of the “Dallas nine,” a group of (more than nine) Dallas artists who were highly acclaimed for their focus on Texas art.
Oak Cliff native John Lunsford, former director of the SMU Meadows Museum and the first Senior Curator at the Dallas Museum of Art presents an overview of Bywaters’ life and art on March 8 at Turner House as part of the Oak Cliff Society for Fine Arts’ 2018 spring salon series. Tickets cost $15 for members and $20 otherwise.
On April 12, Architexas principal Craig Melde gives a talk about the Joule Hotel.
And on May 10, the Oak Cliff Society for Fine Arts presents an exhibit of outsider art, with a discussion with artists Bill Haveron and Oak Cliff-based Andy Don Emmons.
