When a Texas oilman funded a national art competition for wildflowers in the late 1920s, the generous prize money swiftly attracted such artists as Jose Arpa, Dawson Dawson-Watson, and Oscar E. Berninghaus and Herbert Dunton (founding members of the Taos Society of Artists). In addition to a gallery of color plates representing the best of the winning entries, this book offers an intriguing portrait of art philanthropy and the development of artistic trends.The San Antonio Art League was charged with administering the Texas ...
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When a Texas oilman funded a national art competition for wildflowers in the late 1920s, the generous prize money swiftly attracted such artists as Jose Arpa, Dawson Dawson-Watson, and Oscar E. Berninghaus and Herbert Dunton (founding members of the Taos Society of Artists). In addition to a gallery of color plates representing the best of the winning entries, this book offers an intriguing portrait of art philanthropy and the development of artistic trends.The San Antonio Art League was charged with administering the Texas Wildflower Competitive Exhibitions. In three years at the end of the Roaring Twenties, more than $53,000 was awarded to artists for painting Davis's selected Texas subjects.From this alliance of philanthropy and talent came what Cecilia Steinfeldt calls a milestone in the saga of Texas art history -- three annual exhibitions that helped forge the state's emerging art community and catapulted Texas into the national art scene of the day. Eventually, the controversy they engendered along with the visibility they provided Texas artists fueled the regionalist movement that would reject impressionism and gain prominence in the 1930s.The story of Edgar B. Davis, the Yankee entrepreneur-turned-Texas oilman, is at least as intriguing as that of the competitions he sponsored. A former Yankee trader and leader in the rubber industry, Davis developed the Luling oilfield in Central Texas in the early 1920s. Inspired by a mystical conviction that his success was intended for the public good, he established charitable foundations in Luling and his home town of Brockton, Massachusetts. He pioneered corporate profit sharing in his business pursuits and gave generouslyto the arts, letters, and social causes of the day. Aesthetically, he was worldly and sophisticated, imbued with a deep appreciation for the fine arts and a special affection for Texas wildflowers. The nation's most prominent artists came to Texas to paint his beloved floral subjects and, after Davis expanded the contest categories, to portray the Texas ranching and cotton industries.In addition to the color plates, eight more prize-winning works are included in black and white, and historical photographs illustrate the story of Edgar B. Davis. A foreword by art historian Cecilia Steinfeldt places the competitions in historical perspective, and an afterword by art appraiser and teacher Richard Casagrande provides incisive commentary on the paintings included in the book.
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