F. W. Ayers

"Magnolia Bloom Still Life" by Howard Hughes Tool General Manager Vice President

Dated 1943

Emma Richardson Cherry (1859 - 1954) Houston Artist Size: 20 x 16 Frame: 22.5 x 18.5 Medium: Oil on Board "Magnolias" Biography Emma Richardson Cherry (1859 - 1954) Emma Richardson Cherry, known as the "Dean of Houston Art," is credited with introducing many Houstonians to fine art. Emma Richardson was born in Aurora, Illinois in 1860. She was recognized as an artist by the age of 18. She met her husband, Dillon Brooke Cherry, while teaching art in Nebraska. Mrs. Cherry studied in New York, Paris, and Italy before moving to Houston in 1892. Cherry began teaching art in her home, and continued to do so for half a century. Cherry organized the Houston Public School Art League* in 1900 with four other art advocates: Mrs. Robert S. Lovett, Miss Lydia Adkisson, Miss Roberta Lavender and Miss Cara Redwood. The group would obtain examples of fine art masterpieces and bring them to the schools. One attempt was not favorably received- a replica plaster of Paris nude Venus de Milo was offered to Central High School; the School Board thought it would corrupt students morals and refused to accept it. The League gave the statue to the public library instead (today it can be seen on the second floor of the Julia Ideson Building). According to one newspaper account, parents would warn their children: "You may go down to the library, my dears, but don't go near that Venus." (Houston Post 4-12-1953) The independent spirit was recognized in a 1923 Houston Chroniclearticle: "Mrs. Cherry's work has always been characterized by an independent spirit and forward-looking attitude." In 1913, the group she had organized shortened their name to the Houston Art League*, setting its sights on raising money to open a fine arts museum in the city. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opened in 1924. Emma Richardson Cherry was the first woman to have a solo exhibit at the museum. Cherry worked in oil, watercolors, pastels, pencil and charcoal, and considered herself a modernist, but she painted a number of traditional portraits while living in Houston. She is known for her paintings of flowers, and in 1937 did a study of oleanders to be presented to President Franklin Roosevelt during his visit to Galveston. Her four most popular works are of the Texas Republic...

Jose Vives-Atsara (1919-2004) San Antonio Artist Image Size: 30 x 24 Frame Size: 38.75 x 32.75 Medium: Oil on Canvas Applied by Palette Knife Dated 2001 "Flowers" Biography Jose Vives-Atsara (1919-2004) His list of Pallbearers says it all. They were not just buyers of his art they were some of his closest friends. Pallbearers: E. Glenn Biggs, James M. Cavender, III, Tom C. Frost, Jr., James W. Gorman, Jr., George B. Irish, Joseph R. Krier, Robert L. Mooney and H. Bartell Zachry, Jr. Jose Vives-Atsara was born April 13, 1919, in Villafranca del Penedes near Barcelona, Spain. A native Spaniard, he developed a love of painting at an early age, and by age 11 had committed himself to becoming an artist. He studied at Colegio de San Ramon and had his first one-person show at age 14. The Spanish Civil interrupted his idyllic young life as he was forced to serve in the Communist Army, and then was imprisoned, suffering many hardships. Soon after the war he married Emilia Hill Domenech, and in 1947 set out to move with his wife and child aboard a tramp steamer to the United States. Unfortunately, immigration quotas did not allow them to move directly to the United States, and it was eight years before they achieved that goal. During this interim before obtaining temporary visas, he and his family lived first, in Caracas, Venezuela and then in Mexico City, Mexico. The family settled in San Antonio, Texas, where he had made friends on a previous visit. He and his wife and children gained citizenship in time for their first Christmas in the United States. He became such an exemplary immigrant citizen that officials of the U.S. District Court for the Western District Court regularly invited him to share his thoughts and advice for living in America with newly naturalized citizens Vives-Atsara also developed a close relationship with the Incarnate Word College, becoming, over the years, both a professor of art, and Artist in Residence. As a painter, he depicted many local scenes including San Antonio missions and the San Antonio River. For special guests such as Pope John Paul II, heads of state, and royalty from foreign countries, he was commissioned to provide paintings as gifts. His paintings were also commissioned for Frost Bank and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. For his vibrant oil paintings, he used only nine colors, mixed in a variety of ways. They have been described as both realistic and impressionistic. "Vives-Atsara believed that art is a reflection of the artist's soul, if this is true; his paintings reflect a beautiful, bright spirit." (Richardson) Jose Vives-Atsara died in San Antonio on January 13, 2004 and is buried there in Sunset Memorial Park Mausoleum. Jose Vives-Atsara was born in Vilafranca del Panades in the Catalonian region of Spain on April 30, 1919. As a small boy he loved to sketch with pencil and paper. He began painting at the age of eleven. His first one-man show came at the ripe old age of fourteen. From that time on, painting has been his love and his way of life. Jose studied art at Saint Raymond College and School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. He is quick to admit that his most inspirational teacher has been nature itself. Mr. Vives-Atsara came to San Antonio in 1956 where he has established his art career. His use of a palette knife in painting allows him to blend rich pure pigments to achieve his goal of creating a powerful statement of color directly on the canvas. This style is intended to produce works that are distinctively 'Vives-Atsara'. Vives-Atsara is represented in public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Spain; Fort Worth Art Museum, Texas; His Royal Highness Juan Carlos...

Vivid oil painting of blooming saucer magnolias by Ann McKee (American, 20th Century). Signed lower right "A. McKee, August 1962." Unframed. Some age toning. Image, 28"H x 24"W. Ann McKee a West Monroe, Louisiana artist.

"Magnolia, XVII" is from the series of paintings of this Native American flower by Kelley. Each one depicts the magnolia blossom in a different state of unfurling. John Woodrow Ke...