On May 3 and 4, I participated in the 2019 Conference on Texas History at San Antonio's Witte Museum. This large event highlighted publication of a new book edited by Dr. Ron Tyler entitled The Art of Texas: 250 Years. This volume consists of essays by historians, curators, art historians, and other scholars dealing with the visual arts in Texas during the course of its history as a state. I am the author of the chapter dealing with Texas Sculpture. Two days of presentations highlighted various topics, with speakers focused on a number of aspects of art in Texas. I spoke on Texas women in the early years of the twentieth century who promoted the cause of art in the state. In particular, I considered the careers of Francis B. Fisk, Ethel Tunstall Drought, and Allie Victoria Tennant as representatives of the many women who advanced the cause of Texas art during its earlier periods of development. Click here for a YouTube recording of my presentation. The symposium also marked the opening of a large exhibit of Texas art assembled by Ron Tyler and Michael Duty. A highlight for me was the inclusion of the smaller-sized version of Allie Tennant's "Tejas Warrior" which Brookgreen Gardens in South Caroline loaned to the Witte for this exhibition. Below is a picture of me with this iconic Tennant sculpture as presented in the Witte exhibition
