Clear skies, empty roads, and about half an hour will get me from my home in rural Tom Green County to the city
of San Angelo. Regular readers of the
blog know this is dry country on the northeastern edge of the Chihuahuan
Desert. But unless a reader lives in
the Concho Valley or has visited the area, he/she may not know this frontier
hamlet (which was briefly home to a shady gambling lady on whom radio and
television's Gunsmoke "Miss Kitty" character was based) is an Arts Friendly town...
 |
| Return of an Old Friend, Richard Salmon (detail) |
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| Ranching Heritage Mural, Stylle Read (detail) |
This week, we'll stroll downtown and take a
look at a small number of the multitude of murals and sculptures hiding in
plain view of Angeloans...
 |
| Pearl of the Conchos, Garland Weeks |
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| Working Cowboy, Scott Sustek (detail) |
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| Sailor Kissing Woman, Anonymous. This recreaction of a famous World War II photo is one of dozens of painings in the "Paintbrush Alley" section of San Angelo |
You and I shall just enjoy what we see and I
won't add much commentary. We've got a
few links down below that should answer most of the questions you have about
the men and women who've shared their vision with us. Some remain anonymous, painting and sculpting
in secret. Other have been kind enough
to take credit for work they do to help make a dusty old desert town an increasingly
poorly kept secret amongst art lovers...
Two of our selections today are details from
murals done by Stylle Read, a specialist in historically accurate recreations
of western scenes. Mr Read is based out
of Cleburne, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth named after Confederate General
Patrick Cleburne who was born in Ireland and came to the United States after
service as a foot soldier in the British Army.
He'd enlisted after failing the required entrance exam for Trinity
College of Medicine in Dublin. In the
United States, he became a successful pharmacist in Ohio before relocating to
Helena, Arkansas, where he purchased a half-interest in the local newspaper and
passed the bar examination. Cleburne was
a prominent attorney when the Civil War broke out. He chose to fight in the Confederate Army, he
said, not out of any love for the repulsive institution of slavery but out of
affection for Southerners who'd "adopted" him as if he were a
hometown boy...
 |
| RAN, John Raimondi (detail). This enigmatic space-age desert Stonehenge has decorated San Angelo's Civic League park since 1979. |
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| Las Dos Angelas, John Noelke (detail). This sculpture of Angela Merici, founder of the Ursuline Order, stands behind the Visitor Center in downtown San Angelo alongside a statue of Angela Garza DeWitt, wife of the town's founder. DeWitt, a widower, originally called the settlement Santa Angela, either in honor of his beloved wife or her patron saint. |
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| Elmer Kelton Mural, Stylle Read. (detail) |
Stylle Read's selections commemorate the
ranching heritage of southwestern Texas and the literary career of Elmer
Kelton, the San Angelo journalist and novelist voted "greatest western
writer of all time" by the Western Writer's Association, leaving Zane Grey
in the dust and easily outdistancing Louis L'Amour. The military men seen in the Kelton mural
detail were Buffalo Soldiers aka The United States Colored Troops aka The Negro
Cavalry. They were black men sent to
guard frontier outposts on the Great Plains and Southwestern Deserts, fending off attacks by red men on whose lands
the white men were encroaching. Buffalo
Soldiers were stationed at Fort Concho near Santa Angela, which became San Angelo, at various times between 1873 and 1885...
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| Paintbrush Alley, San Angelo |
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| Psst..., Anonymous. |
Enough jabbering. Let's take a walk and see what we can see...
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| Red Barn, Joe Sackett. |
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| Untitled and Anonymous |
Links
for More Information about the art and the artists:
http://www.ipfoods-llc.com/2011/07/2011-san-angelo-living-public-art/
http://www.visitsanangelo.org/articles/view/11 (includes a slide show!)
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| Secret Garden, Anthony Fuentes (detail) |
REQUEST FOR READER HELP:
If a reader can identify either artist or title of works that I've
listed as anonymous or unknown, please leave a comment so I can update
the blog to give proper credit where it's due.
 |
| Untitled, "Eitzel" |
THE
MARKETPLACE
One very easy and
inexpensive way to build a collection of work by some of today's finest
painters, sculptors, and photographers:
Greeting cards from Fine Art America.
Even easier: browse the
Louis Nugent gallery at Fine Art America.
Choose from 250+ unique ideas for home and office decor or holiday and
birthday cards for yourself or a special someone who deserves something extraordinary. Individual cards cost less than $5. Wall prints from $22. Readers interested in purchasing prints of Return of an Old Friend, Red Barn, or Pearl of the Concho may follow the link below:
 |
| Portrait of a Woman on a Downtown Wall, Louis Nugent |
Follow and Like Louis R Nugent Photography on Facebook @ louisnugent22.
Fine Art America now
features painting, drawings, and photographs by sixteen artists who celebrate
the majestic and uncompromising landscapes, settlements, people, plants, and
animals of West Texas. Featured this
week:
http://fineartamerica.com/groups/west-texas.html |
| The Ascension, Joe Jake Pratt |
Fine Arts America now
features work celebrating the mysterious
and lovely Bayou State of Louisiana and its unique lifestyle:
CREDITS
Note:
All photographs for this essay were located through Google Images or Wikipedia,
without authoritative source or ownership information except as noted: all
photographs by Louis R Nugent.
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