Kathleen Blackshear: American Artist From Texas
Oct. 17–Dec. 14, 2024
J. Wayne Stark Galleries | Memorial Student Center, MSC 1110
Born in Navasota in 1897, Kathleen Blackshear—despite her conventional upbringing—welcomed innovation as a woman and an artist. She made a name for herself as a professional artist at a time when the art world was marginalizing women. She was one of the few female faculty members at the Art Institute of Chicago prior to World War II, becoming an innovative teacher known for mentoring her students.
During her over 30-year teaching career she influenced generations of art history students, embracing modernism, introducing them to African art, and instilling her constant drive to explore new things into her students.
This exhibition represents the eighth installation in the Texas Art Project series.
“Making the Unknown Known: Women in Early Texas Art, 1860s–1960s”
Edited by Victoria H. Cummins and Light Townsend Cummins
Published by Texas A&M University Press
In “Making the Unknown Known,” leading scholars throughout Texas explore the significant role women artists played in developing early Texas art from the 19th century through the latter part of the 20th century. Beautifully illustrated throughout with rich, full-color reproductions of the works created by the artists, this volume provides an enriched understanding of the important but underappreciated role women artists have played in the development of the fine arts in Texas. At last, the unknown story can be known.
