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Recent Acquisitions Releases Press Release Archive |
SMU Expert on Texas Art to Speak at the TMA Tyler, TX—Sam Ratcliffe, Ph.D., head of special collections in the Hamon Arts Library at Southern Methodist University, is scheduled as guest lecturer at the Tyler Museum of Art January 12 from 5:30–7:30 pm. Ratcliffe will speak on “Lone Star Regionalism: Out of the Stubborn Soil” in conjunction with the Museum’s current exhibition by Texas artist Harry Worthman and the upcoming TMA exhibition, Rosalie Speed: Rediscovered Texas Treasure. The Hamon Arts Library holds the papers of noted artists Jerry Bywaters, Otis Dozier and Octavio Medellin, actress Greer Garson, as well as other collections documenting the cultural history of the Southwest. Dr. Ratcliffe is also the author of Painting Texas History to 1900 (University of Texas Press, 1992) which analyzes paintings of events in Texas history as historical documents. “An important part of the Tyler Museum of Art’s growing permanent collection is focused on early Texas art and artists so Dr. Ratcliffe’s expertise is definitely appreciated,” said Ken Tomio, TMA curator and head of education. “Our permanent collection includes a number of Texas Regionalist pieces, and Rosalie Speed’s exhibition is a fine example of Texas Regionalism, so this topic is appropriate and timely.” Dr. Ratcliffe received his BA in history and political science from SMU in 1974 and his MA in American history from the University of Oklahoma in 1978. His Ph.D. is in American civilization from the University of Texas at Austin (1985). He served a year at the University of Wuerzburg in West Germany as a Fulbright Junior Lecturer, and became curator of the Jerry Bywaters Collection on Arts of the Southwest in 1986. Dr. Ratcliffe has taught courses on the history and literature of Texas and the American West in SMU’s history department and MLA program. He also served for six years on the Collections Review committee of the State Preservation Board, which oversees the artworks and furnishing in the Texas State capitol. He currently is curating an exhibition of drawings by Dallas artist Ed Bearden documenting the filming of the American film classic Giant. That exhibition will open in the Hawn Gallery of SMU’s Hamon Library on January 27. Dr. Ratcliffe is a native of Dallas, with relatives in Tyler. This TMA lecture is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. To make reservations call 903-595-1001. |