Williamson Gerald Bywaters (1906–1989), known as Jerry Bywaters, was an American artist, university professor, museum director,
art critic
An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
and a historian of the
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
region. Based in Dallas, Bywaters worked to elevate the quality of Texas art, attracting national attention.
Early life and education
Bywaters was born in
Paris, Texas
Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020.
History
Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...
, on May 21, 1906, and became known as "Jerry" (also spelled Gerry). When a childhood accident kept him out of school for a year, young Jerry found entertainment through drawing. This was his first introduction into his life in art. He attended the Terrill Preparatory School for Boys in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, which he credits with helping "me develop as a writer and later critic". His illustrations appeared in the school paper and annual.
Bywaters enrolled in
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
, where he earned a BA in English and Journalism, and another in General Literature. In his last year, he took a painting class from Ralph Rowntree, and in July 1927, traveled to Europe with him to study art. The following February, Bywaters went to Mexico to study the Mexican mural movement and met
Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art.
Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...
. From him he learned that "art, to be significant, must be a reflection of life".
In the summer of 1928 Bywaters continued his study of art at the Old Lyme Art Colony in Connecticut. His ability was recognized by noted American painters
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to attend the
Art Students League
The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may study f ...
. There he studied with
John Sloan
John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight (Ashcan School), T ...
, known for his paintings of urban life. But Sloan advised Bywaters to return to the Southwest, saying there were "a lot of interesting things" he could paint. Bywaters returned to Dallas.
Artistic career
Bywaters produced landscapes, still lifes and portrait paintings, as well as lithographic prints and murals. In 1933 '' Art Digest'' recognized Bywaters as an artist of national importance.
His paintings in museum collections include ''On the Ranch'' (1941) at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts; ''Where the Mountain Meets the Plains,'' at Southern Methodist University; and ''Oil Field Girls'' (1940), at the Blanton Museum, University of Texas at Austin.
In 1935 Bywaters began making prints, using lithography as a way to make art affordable. He hoped to sell more works to middle class people and to popularize Texas regional art. He pioneered the style later termed "Lone Star Regionalism" and he was recognized as "one of the finest of the regional print makers". An early Bywaters lithograph was ''Gargantua'' (1935), which won a prize in the 1935 Allied Arts Exhibition. Another, ''Ranch Hand and Pony'' (1938), was exhibited at the 1938 Venice Biennial Exposition which received a prize from the Dallas Print Society in 1941.
Bywaters was a founding member of Lone Star Printmakers, a group of male Texas artists who created original prints. They promoted their works with touring exhibitions from 1938 to 1941. They excluded women from their group, so women artists formed their own group, known as Printmakers Guild, and later as Texas Printmakers.
During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
and administration of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, Bywaters participated in
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
art programs. The government had several programs to employ artists, writers, actors and directors. He won mural competitions, set up to commission public art for newly constructed or renovated federal and city buildings. In collaborations with other Dallas artists, Bywaters completed six projects in Texas, including a series of panels in collaboration with Alexandre Hogue at the Old City Hall in Dallas; a series of panels at the Paris Public Library; and one mural each in the post offices of
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
, Quanah, and Farmersville. Other murals of his were installed at the Parcel Post Building of
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.
Professor, critic, and museum director
Bywaters served for forty years as a faculty member of Southern Methodist University's Division of Fine Arts. He ran both the Art and Art History departments.
He was art director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts for more than two decades, from 1943 to 1964. Unlike many of his contemporary art directors, Bywaters sought to bring people into the museum, foreseeing that increasing attendance was the key to survival and growth. For example, in 1954 he staged the two-week 'Fabulous West' event, which attracted 131,000 people.
During his tenure as director of DMFA, Bywaters produced ambitious exhibitions. Among the most notable were ''Religious Art of the Western World'' (1958) and ''The Arts of Man'' (1962).
When city support for the museum was threatened during the
Red Scare
A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...
of the 1950s by accusations that the museum was exhibiting works by communist artists, Bywaters and the trustees of the Dallas Art Association held fast to the standard of freedom of expression and professionalism.
Bywaters was the art critic for ''
The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' from 1933 to 1939, during which time he wrote hundreds of articles on the art and artists of Texas. He was seen as fair, pointing out merits, and allowing shortcomings to be revealed by comparison. As editor of '' Southwestern Arts'' and art critic for the Dallas newspaper, Bywaters was recognized as the leading spokesman in the city of Texas regionalism. He was prominent among the circle of artist known as the 'Dallas Nine', or the 'Lone Star Regionalist'.
Legacy
In 1981, Bywaters gave his numerous papers on the art and artists of the region to Southern Methodist University, founding th Bywaters Special Collections
Bywaters lived in Dallas with his wife Mary McLarry Bywaters until his death on March 7, 1989.