512.471.7324
www.utexas.edu/cofa/hag
C. R. Smith Collection of Western American Art
View of Gallery, C. R. Smith Collection of Western American Art
The Blanton's collection of nineteenth-century
American art, which includes works by Albert Bierstadt, Henry Farney, William
Ranney, Frank Tenney Johnson, Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington and Charles
Russell, 
presents
a compelling record of America's heritage -- events, people, trends, and
social and political mores of the last century. 
The 100 works from the C. R. Smith Collection of Western American Art are among the most important of this period and convey the frontier spirit of discovery and expansion, so central to Texas history and mythology.
The late C. R. Smith was influenced in the building of
his collection during the Great Depression of the 1930s by fellow texans
Amon Carter and Sid
Richardson,both major collectors of western American art. 
Mr. Smith began his collection while living in a small
apartment in New York City. Homesick for Texas, he was drawn to western
art, which, for him, represented the history, space and values of the Lone
Star State. C. R. Smith was chief executive officer for American Airlines
and served as U. S. Secretary of Commerce.
The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art presents its collections
and exhibitions in two different buildings on the campus of The University
of Texas at Austin: selections from the permanent collection (including
the C. R Smith Collection) are shown in the Harry Ransom Humanities Research
Center at 21st and Guadalupe; temporary exhibitions and the Clark Print
Room are housed in the Art Building at 23rd and San Jacinto.
The Blanton is open to the public, free-of-charge, seven
days a week. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9 AM to 5
PM; Thursday, 9 AM to 9 PM; and Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 PM. 
The Clark Print Room is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 2 to 5 PM, or by appointment. The Museum is closed during all University holidays. Galleries are wheelchair accessible. For recorded information about current exhibitions, programs, parking, and hours, please call 512-471-7324.
From top to bottom: Albert Bierstadt, Sioux Village near Fort Laramie, 1859, oil on wood panel, 12 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches, Charles M. Russell, Get 'Em Out of There, c. 1915, watercolor on paper, 18 1/2 x 25 inches; Albert Bierstadt, Indian Canoe, c. 1886, oil on canvas, 21 5/8 x 30 inches; Maynard Dixon, Top of the Ridge, 1933, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches; Thomas Moran, The Golden Hour, 1875, oil on canvas, 9 1/2 x 13 5/8 inches; Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, Huntsman with Deer, Horse and Rifle, 1854, oil on canvas, 30 1/4 x 44 1/8 inches. All works are gifts of C. R. Smith.
Read more about the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art in Resource Library.
For further biographical information on selected artists cited above please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.
rev. 9/20/10
Search Resource Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art.
Copyright 2010 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights reserved.