Free Lecture: The Essence of Tom Lea

October 13, 2016

Who is Tom Lea?

Painter. Life Magazine War Artist. War correspondent. Author. Romantic. Friend. Texan Tom Lea lived a long, illustrious life to the age of 93. Despite his accomplishments, Tom Lea was largely unknown outside Texas when he died on January 29, 2001. His work had taken him to every continent, but he always returned home to El Paso far from current fashions and art world trends. Tom Lea never sought the approval of a critic or the favor of a museum director. He placed the majority of his paintings after World War II in the private collections of his personal friends.

Adair Margo to Speak at McFaddin-Ward House

Adair Margo will speak to a probable packed house at the Visitor Center on October 13th, 2016. She has devoted her life to the telling the world about Tom Lea. Founder of the Tom Lea Institute, Margo is a champion of the arts herself. She is former Chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities under George W. Bush. She shared a life-long friendship with Tom Lea, but it was after recording his oral history that her appreciation grew deeper. Margo serves on numerous prestigious arts boards, and she has devoted her life to the legacy of Tom Lea.

We are honored to have Ms. Margo speak at our museum. We invite the public to hear her remarkable lecture and to attend the reception that follows.

For more information about the artist and the speaker, please go to http://tomlea.com/

Free Lecture: Tiffany Art Glass Expert to Speak at Museum

September 22, 2016

Tiffany Art Glass

The McFaddin-Ward House is proud to bring a Tiffany Art Glass expert to its 2016 Lecture Series. Paul Doros authored a book called The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany describing some of the artist’s most celebrated pieces. He will speak about Tiffany at an upcoming lecture on September 22 at the McFaddin-Ward House Visitor Center.

Who was Louis Comfort Tiffany?

Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts. Artists and collectors know him best for his work in stained glass, and historians associate Tiffany most often with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements. He considered his Favrile glass his signature artistic achievement which he produced between the 1890s and 1920s. Now highly collectible, the glass underscores one-of-a-kind quality. Tiffany’s glass workers blew and decorated each piece by hand.

Paul Doros’ book explores the full range of Tiffany Studios’ diverse and innovative styles. In his talk, Doros will showcase photographs of Tiffany’s world-class pieces. He will highlight a variety of unique masterpieces like the delicate Flowerform vases and the dramatic Lava vases. Doros will also give a history of the Tiffany glasshouse where gifted glass workers and scientists worked. He will show never-before-published documents and archival photographs of Tiffany and his family. The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany showcases the mastery and vision behind remarkable works.

About the Speaker

Paul Doros is a renowned scholar on the life and work of Louis Comfort Tiffany. He was the first curator of glass at the Chrysler Museum of Art, located in Norfolk, Virginia, and authored the 1978 publication, The Tiffany Collection of the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk. Experts widely consider this collection the finest of Tiffany blown vessels that any public institution holds. He went on to work in the Twentieth Century Decorative Arts Department of Christie’s from 1978 to 1988. Paul hosts The Tiffany Studios Resource Center web site (tiffanystudios.org) and has even appeared in a segment of the PBS program “History Detectives.”

You may meet Mr. Doros after the his lecture at a reception which the museum will hold in his honor.

For more information about the book and the author, please go to http://www.tiffanystudios.org/

JAMES EVANS SPEAKS ON PHOTOGRAPHING THE BIG BEND

July 21, 2016

James Evans, Big Bend photographer, comes to the McFaddin-Ward House sharing his wit, humor, and life’s work capturing images of the formidable Big Bend, Texas.

Evans fell in love with the Big Bend on a hiking trip 28 years ago, so he set up camp…permanently. He’s been taking stunning pictures ever since, has authored two books, and finally got married this year.

His work is featured regularly in Texas Monthly Magazine among other notable publications. His photographs hang in prestigious galleries, museums, hotels, and private collections all over the country, yet he is too humble to tell you about it.

A PREVIEW, book signing, and reception will follow the lecture.
Mr. Evans’ works will be on view until August 4th.

If you like our events, this is the one to attend.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. at the Visitor Center.

For further information about James Evans and to see some of his work, visit his website at http://jameshevans.com.

Art Greats of Southeast Texas Lecture

June 16, 2016

The art scene in Southeast Texas is alive and well. Does that surprise you? For more than a century, great masters have lived among us, leaving behind brilliant works and respected reputations. We at the McFaddin-Ward House are proud to keep legacies alive through education and community events. This month is no exception as our 2016 Lecture Series continues. The McFaddin-Ward House is excited to host leading museum authority, Sarah Beth Wilson, who will speak about Southeast Texas’ hidden treasures in her lecture entitled “Golden Triangle Greats: A History of the Arts in Southeast Texas”.

The Golden Triangle is known around the world for its crucial role in oil refining. It all started when the Lucas Gusher blew in 1901 and birthed the modern petrochemical industry. What most locals don’t know is that Southeast Texas has been a hotbed for artists since the 1800’s…those who possess a wealth of original genius. Ms. Wilson’s presentation will explore the genesis of the Golden Triangle art scene. She will highlight pivotal figures like John Alexander, Katherine Green Baker, Patricia and David Cargill, Maudee Carron, Lorene David, Frank Gerrietts, Lilian Hayes, Herman Hugg, Jerry Newman, Will-Amelia Sterns Price, Robert Rogan, Richard Stout, Lynn Sweat and many others. These greats helped establish Southeast Texas as an integral part of the history of art in the Lone Star state.

Sarah Beth Wilson is Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, http://www.amset.org/. Prior to coming here, she worked at various galleries in Houston and taught art history with Lone Star Community College. She received her Bachelor of Arts in both art history and museum studies from Baylor University, Waco, Texas (2006), and attended Texas Christian University for graduate school, where she was awarded a full fellowship, travel grants and graduated with her Masters of Arts in art history (2009).

Free Lecture

May 12, 2016

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’LL FIND!

ADVENTURES IN COLLECTING ANTIQUES, PORCELAIN, POTTERY, AND GLASS

The 2016 McFaddin-Ward House Lecture Series continues with a special evening of antiques. If you love collecting old objects, you won’t want to miss this presentation. Antique, Art, Pottery, Porcelain, and Glass expert, David Lackey, brings his knowledge and talent to the McFaddin-Ward House in its continuing 2016 Lecture Series.

Speaker, David Lackey graduated from Baylor University, dealt in antiques for several years, then did intensive study at Christie’s Fine Arts in London. He has been a collector for most of his life, starting at the young age of 6 when he received an antique penny bank in the shape of a house. This simple gift ignited David’s passion for collecting old objects, and he began to shop with his parents at flea-markets and garage sales. By the age of 12, he was selling at weekend antiques fairs and to other dealers who appreciated his keen eye for quality items.

David Lackey presently owns an antique shop in Houston, creates his own art, and can be seen appraising collectibles on the enormously popular PBS series Antiques Roadshow. Please join us for this enlightening lecture and find out how he determines what your special “something” is worth.

For more information on David Lackey, please visit our news site at https://mcfaddin-ward.org/category/news/

Our lectures are FREE and open to the public, but seating is limited. We take the first 90 visitors who arrive. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Antiques Road Show Expert to Speak Here

May 3, 2016

If you love antiques at the McFaddin-Ward House, chances are you’ve heard of Antiques Road Show. Items in our collection would be dream-finds on the popular PBS Series where Average Joes and Janes rustle up antiques and collectibles for a televised appraisal. From garage sales to grandpa’s attic, it’s an array of everything from the beautiful to unusual. Sometimes, they hit it big.

One popular appraiser on the show is David Lackey, a Houston antique and art dealer, collector, and expert. In addition to creating his own art, Mr. Lackey owns an antique store in Houston. The McFaddin-Ward House has invited Lackey to speak at a free lecture in May.

David Lackey “grew up” in the antique business so-to-speak. On his sixth birthday, someone gave little David an antique penny bank in the shape of a house. This simple gift ignited David’s passion for collecting old objects, and he began to shop with his parents at flea-markets and garage sales. By the age of 12, he was selling at weekend antiques fairs and to other dealers who appreciated his keen eye for quality items.

After graduating from Baylor University, David worked as a buyer for Foley’s Department Store, although he continued to sell collectibles on weekends. He sold china and crystal he’d bought at estate sales, and pretty soon, David became known as a local expert in ceramics and glass.

By 1983 David Lackey was dealing antiques on a full-time basis, but he longed to further his knowledge. Two years later, he liquidated his business and enrolled in an intensive year-long course at Christie’s Fine Arts in London. David returned to Houston in 1986 and re-opened his business which flourished.

Ten years later, along came Antiques Roadshow. In the first season, David was asked to appraise pottery and porcelain for a filming in San Antonio, Texas. His appraisal aired on the show and David was invited to other venues. Since 1998, David has appraised at every Antiques Roadshow filming and traveled to over 100 cities.

David Lackey’s lecture on Antiques, Porcelain, Pottery, and Glass will be held Thursday May 12th at the McFaddin-Ward Visitor Center, located at 1906 Calder in Beaumont. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. The lecture starts at 6:30. The lecture is free, but seating is limited to the first 90 people who arrive.

Who Rode the Orphan Train?

February 19, 2016

Between 1854 and 1929 over 250,000 orphans and unwanted children were taken out of New York City and given away at train stations across America. This nearly eighty year experiment in child migration is filled with horror stories and happy endings. The trains stopped in pre-selected towns where people interested in taking a child would assemble. Children not chosen were put back on the train and many were shuttled from family to family and town to town. Until the release of a 1993 documentary on PBS’s The American Experience, these children’s stories were largely untold.

The 2016 McFaddin-Ward House Lecture Series proudly presents Phil Lancaster, musician/presenter of “Riders of the Orphan Train”, the official outreach program for the National Orphan Train Complex. Please join us at 6:30 p.m. March 3 as Mr. Lancaster brings this subject to public awareness through artistic performance and extends what has become a personal passion to touch people concerned about this profound human experience.

As always, there is no cost for our reception and presentation which will be held at the McFaddin-Ward House Visitor Center, 1906 Calder, Beaumont. The public is invited to attend.