04/29/2021
So proud of my SIL, Kay Betz!!! Congrats!!
Texas A & M University Press, the definitive publisher of Texas art history books, is completing work on the history of our art colony for release this November, with an evocative cover painting by Steve Russell — https://www.amazon.com/Story-Rockport-Fulton-Art-Colony-Coastal/dp/1623499488. Keep posted for announcements about Fall programs and book-signings.
Until then, enjoy this Forward from the book, written by William and Linda Reaves, noted Houston art gallerists, major Texas art collectors and patrons, and art historians:
“Those raised on the mid-Texas coast—a long, flat stretch of quiet bays and inlets shoehorned somewhere between Matagorda and Corpus Christi—know that stories conveying the history and qualities of this ‘home’ country are rare. Stories about high art and culture on these coastal plains are even more scarce.
In The Story of the Rockport-Fulton Art Colony: How A Coastal Texas Town Became An Art Enclave, authors Kay Betz and Vickie Merchant present one of those rare coastal tales, sharing an engaging story of the plight of art and artists in these mid-coast environs, and describing the hard work and creative spirit of a coastal town seeking to build and sustain both arts and community.
Betz and Merchant trace the development and on-going presence of the Rockport-Fulton Art Colony, documenting the evolution of this coastal arts center from its roots shortly after WW II to present. Theirs is a story of how art can flourish even in the most remote of places. They provide new insights into the work of several well-known Texas painters who graced the Rockport scene over the course of accomplished careers, and they bring to light several lesser-known, but none-the-less important, Texas artists from the area.
Their treatment of Simon Michael, for instance, illuminates an overlooked South Texas artist and major force in the development of the arts along the entire Texas coast. The chapter on Michael offers a long overdue tribute to an important and under-recognized Texas artist and teacher.
Equally important and informative is their chapter referencing the work and influence of artists such as Jack Cowan, Herb Booth, Al Barnes, and a gaggle of other significant wildlife and sporting artists whose work centered in Rockport during the last quarter of the twentieth century.
The collective output of these painters inspired and supported grassroots conservation movements that evolved within the state during that critical period. Working from this remote stretch of the South Texas coast, these accomplished Texas artists created and popularized a distinctive regional art genre, and the authors present a sound reckoning of their time and production in the Rockport area.
The book also addresses important Texas sculptors whose work was aligned with the Rockport-Fulton area, notable among them Lincoln Borglum, Jesus Moroles, and Kent Ullberg, adding to the history and documentation of these well-known Texas artists as well.
Beyond the artists who worked the region, the authors recount a compelling backstory of the formation of the “colony” itself, referencing human, physical, and programmatic forces that nurtured and sustained the art center over time. Relying heavily upon heretofore unpublished local archives and records, the authors have interviewed and noted numerous first-hand sources for their account. In doing so, they present an interesting cast of characters, businesses, institutions, and events that have been crucial to the ongoing growth and development of this rural haven for Texas art.
This book is thus a significant contribution to the literature on Texas artists and an engaging story of community support of regional art and culture. The text is enriched by a significant body of photographs and imbued with images of artworks produced at the colony over its years of existence. Those of us invested in the art and culture of this region are indebted to these talented authors for bringing this book to the fore, and we commend it to readers who share our affections for lore of the Texas coast. Long live Rockport, Texas and long live Texas art!”
