In honor of the Centennial Celebration of Texas State Parks, the Bullock Texas State History Museum will host a new traveling art exhibit Jan. 7 – April 30. “The Art of Texas State Parks” is a visual arts survey of state parks featuring more than 30 parks by some of Texas’ most celebrated artists. The exhibit will travel to several museums later this year, including the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon.
Along with the traveling exhibit, the project also includes a commemorative book published by Texas A&M Press. Proceeds from book sales and the sale of the artwork through Foltz Fine Art in Houston will be donated to Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to benefit Texas State Parks.
The project was several years in the making. In anticipation of the 2023 Centennial Celebration of Texas State Parks, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum to present The Art of Texas State Parks. Thirty notable Texas artists were commissioned to create works celebrating parks across Texas. Additional support for the project is provided by H-E-B, presenting sponsor for the Texas State Parks Centennial Celebration.
“We are grateful for the partnership that is bringing The Art of Texas State Parks to museums across Texas, spreading the message about these natural treasures that belong to us all,” said TPWD Executive Director David Yoskowitz, Ph.D.
The Art of Texas State Parks is intended to increase public awareness of Texas parklands and heighten their popular appeal through the elegant and inspired works of Texas’ contemporary painters. The national park system has long collaborated with artists to portray their landscapes, but until now, no such artistic record had been undertaken for state parks. The Centennial Celebration of Texas State Parks offers the perfect occasion to create a lasting visual record of Texas State Parks in art and, at the same time, memorialize the past and ongoing development of the distinctive collection of Lone Star parks and natural areas.
Participating artists include: Randy Bacon (Abilene); Mary Baxter (Marfa); David Caton (Utopia); Charles Criner (Houston); Margie Crisp (Elgin); Ric Dentinger (San Antonio/Santa Fe NM); Fidencio Duran (Austin); Janet Eager Krueger (Encinal); Joel Edwards (Waco); Malou Flato (Austin); Gordon Fowler (Austin); Pat Gabriel (Fort Worth); David Griffin (Lubbock/ Dallas); Brian Grimm (Fredericksburg); Clemente Guzman (San Antonio); Karl E. Hall (Houston); John Austin Hanna (Fredericksburg); Billy Hassell (Fort Worth); Hailey Herrera (Bryan); Lee Jamison (Huntsville); Denise Mahlke (Whitehouse); Jim Malone (Fort Worth); Talmage Minter (Waco); William Montgomery (Elgin); Kermit Oliver (Waco); Noe Perez (Corpus Christi); Jeri Salter (Hutto); Jim Stoker (San Antonio); Bob Stuth-Wade (Dublin); and Terri Wells (Austin).
The exhibit will travel to the Houston Museum of Natural Science in late May and can be viewed May 26 – Oct. 1. It will then be exhibited at the Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon from Oct. 27 – Feb. 18, 2024. The exhibit will also be displayed in 2024 in College Station, Albany and Tyler. The commemorative book is available online through several sources, including Texas A&M Press, the Bullock Museum Store and Amazon.
“It was a real pleasure to see the passion these artists brought to this project, and we’re thrilled these works will be on display at prestigious museums across Texas,” said Andrew Sansom, co-author of the commemorative book and founder of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. “It is our fervent hope that these works of art will inspire present and future generations of Texans to forever appreciate and protect their parks.”
Along with The Art of Texas State Parks, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is partnering with TPWD to celebrate Texas State Parks all year long. H-E-B, the presenting sponsor of the Centennial Celebration, donated $1 million to help Texas State Parks engage all Texans in discovering and exploring their parks. For more information on the Centennial Celebration, including special community events at all 89 state parks, the history of Texas State Parks and how to make a day visit or overnight reservation, visit TexasStateParks.org/100years.
