The Tom Lea Institute, El Paso Times and community organizations present the fourth annual Tom Lea Month in El Paso, sponsored by Humanities Texas, the State affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; J. P. and Mary Jon Bryan, and Dee and Adair Margo. Comprised of a Tom Lea University, exhibits, lectures, classes, movies and tours. For more information visit TomLeaInstitute.org or call 915 533-0048.
TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2010
Proclamation by the City Council
declaring July 2010 Tom Lea Month
City Council Chambers, 2 Civic Center Plaza
9 a.m.
THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010
Tom Lea University Session – Tom Lea in Dallas
Tour of paintings “History of Western Beef Cattle”
Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood (Hamon Entrance), Dallas, Texas
11 a.m.–12 noon
Provide your own transportation
The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) owns eleven Tom Lea paintings on the “History of Western Beef Cattle,” commissioned by Life Magazine in 1946, shortly after Tom Lea completed duty as a World War II artist correspondent for the publication. The paintings never appeared in Life Magazine and were presented to the DMA in September 1950. Dan Longwell, chairman of the board of editors, said at a ceremony at the Adolphus Hotel, “Although they are more modern, they are in the great tradition of Remington, Bingham and Russell. They belong to Texas.” The paintings were published by Encino Press in 1967 and are not normally on view.
Tour of Tom Lea Murals in West Texas Room
Hall of State, Dallas State Fairgrounds, 3929 Grand Ave., Dallas, Texas
3–4 p.m.
Provide your own transportation
$45 for the session. ($200 per individual/$350 per couple for Tom Lea University series)
Tom Lea completed two murals for the West Texas Room, Hall of State for the Texas Centennial in 1936. The Hall of State recently reopened to the public after renovations with a celebration of Tom Lea.
MONDAY, JULY 5, 2010
Tom Lea’s Art from the Collection of Henry and Pat Taylor
Tom Lea Institute, 215 N. Stanton, Suite 602
11–12:30 p.m.
Opening reception for Tom Lea paintings and drawings acquired by Henry Taylor during the latter years of his life. The majority of works relate to Mexico and the Mexican Revolution.
Free and open to the public.
Hacienda del Sauz and Don Julian Llaguno, 1946, watercolor.
Collection of Henry and Pat Taylor.
Tom Lea Institute at the Percolator, 217 N. Stanton
12:45–1:30 p.m.
Adair Margo, representative of the Estate of Tom Lea and founder of the Tom Lea Institute, will share stories of the individual works in the Taylor collection, including their provenance and how they relate to the artist’s life.
Free and open to the public
TUESDAY, JULY 6 through FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2010
Tom Lea in Living Color
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
1–4 p.m.
Artist Davinia Gomez will take participants through the galleries and explore Tom Lea’s artwork through the lens of color. Classes include daily lessons on color theory, sketching and pastel projects, as well as a field trip.
$31 Members, $39 Non-Members. Laura Zamarripa, 915 532-1707, ext. 27.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010
Tom Lea, Genius of the Twentieth Century
El Paso Museum of History, 510 N. Santa Fe
6 p.m.
Adair Margo, who recorded Tom Lea’s oral history in 1995 and represents his art, will share historic photographs and slides of Tom Lea’s remarkable life and work, bringing to light the reasons Lea is considered an “unsung genius of our time.”
Free and open to the public. Jim Murphy, 915 351-3588 ext 7008.
Train, 1956, pen and ink. Collection of Henry and Pat Taylor.
El Paso Museum of History, Seminar Room
7 p.m.
Opening of Tom Lea’s illustrations from Forty Years at El Paso by W.W. Mills on loan from Wells Fargo Bank. Tom and Sarah Lea had a long history with State National Bank (now Wells Fargo), and Sarah Lea was their first female director. The bank has a significant collection of Lea work, including twenty four pen and ink drawings acquired directly from the artist.
Free and open to the public. Jim Murphy, 915 351-3588 ext 7008.
THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2010
Tom Lea University Session – Renaissance Man: Tom Lea and Italian Art
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
5–6:30 p.m.
Luciano Cheles, Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Poitiers (France), studied books on Texas artists and noticed that several painters were inspired by Italian Renaissance masters. Cheles applied for and received a Terra Fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, traveling to Washington, D.C. to learn more. He will share insights into Tom Lea’s interest in the artists of the Quattrocento, especially a muralist from the border of Tuscany and Umbria named Piero della Francesca.
$45 for the session. ($200 per individual/$350 per couple for TL University series).
Sketching in the Tom Lea Gallery
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
6–8:30 p.m.
Christian Gerstheimer, Curator, will provide a brief discussion of Tom Lea’s life and work in the EPMA Tom Lea Gallery prior to a hands-on lesson in drawing. Tuition and supplies are free courtesy of the EPMA Tom Lea Endowment and the Tom Lea Institute. Each registered student will receive one complimentary sketchpad and pencil, while supplies last.
Free and open to the public. Pre-registration required, call (915) 532-1707.
Laura Zamarripa 915 532-1707 ext. 27.
FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2010
Showing of “The Brave Bulls”
Blumberg Auditorium, UTEP Library 500 West University Ave.
3 p.m.
While researching beef cattle in Mexico for Life Magazine, Tom Lea was captivated by the black fighting cattle and he embarked on writing his first novel, The Brave Bulls, in 1949. It became a New York Times bestseller and was touted as surpassing Hemingway in its exploration of the interior of a bullfighter. The Brave Bulls has been called Tom Lea’s war book by scholars. It was adapted into film by producer and director Robert Rossen, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.
Free and open to the public. 915 747-5697.
UTEP Library, Sixth Floor Gallery
4:30 p.m.
Opening reception for Tom Lea and Bullfighting, a collection of Lea articles, books and photographs related to his fascination with the art of bullfighting from the Tom Lea Papers in UTEP’s C.L. Sonnichsen’s Special Collections Department.
Free and open to the public. 915 747-5697.
Tom and Sarah Lea at a bullfight in Juárez.
Courtesy C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department, UTEP Library
SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2010
XII Travelers Monument to the Southwest
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
2 p.m.
Toward the end of his long life, Tom Lea was a strong supporter of John Houser’s sculptural walk through El Paso history known as the XII Travelers Memorial of the Southwest. Lea wanted to see Houser achieve his dream and contributed financially to the project. John Houser, the son of Ivan Houser who worked on Mount Rushmore, has completed two works in the series–Fray Garcia de San Francisco, the builder of the mission of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Ciudad Juárez, and Don Juan de Oñate (known as The Equestrian). He is currently focusing on Susan Shelby Magoffin and Benito Juárez and will travel from Santa Fe to share updates.
Free and open to the public.
SUNDAY, JULY 11 & 18, 2010
Acrylics Plein Air
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
9:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Artist Ron Fritsch will lead these classes that include a lecture focused on Tom Lea’s proclamation that he was an “avowed painter of the Almighty’s majestic handiwork” and the achievements of his life in painting. Both sessions will meet at designated sites, such as Tom Lea Park or the Franklin Mountains State Park. Students are responsible for entrance fees to state parks, and should prepare appropriately for outdoor and inclement weather. Christian Gerstheimer, Curator, will provide a brief discussion of Tom Lea’s life and work, on Thursday, July 8, 6:00-6:30 p.m. in the EPMA Tom Lea Gallery.
$60 Members, $76 non-Members. Laura Zamarripa 915 532-1707 ext. 27.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2010
Creative Writing Workshop Inspired by Tom Lea’s Paintings
The Percolator, 217 N. Stanton
5:30–7:30 p.m.
Award-winning poet, performer and teaching artist, Monica Gomez, will lead the session in which participants will view and discuss Lea’s works, writing in response to their impressions and then reading aloud. Writings will be compiled for a 2010 Tom Lea Month commemorative anthology.
Free and open to the public. With the support of Museums and Cultural Affairs, City of El Paso and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Maria Aragon, 915 541-4481.
THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2010
Tom Lea University Session
The Tom Lea Collection at the Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
5–6:30 p.m.
Peter Mears, Associate Curator of the Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, has overseen the Tom Lea Collections for fifteen years. He will share the history of how the University of Texas came to be the repository of Tom Lea’s work and show images of Lea works that are not readily available to the public.
$45 for the session. ($200 per individual/$350 per couple for series)
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, 1943, watercolor. Collection of Harry Ransom
Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin.
Sketching in the Tom Lea Gallery
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
6:30–8:30 p.m.
The class includes a lecture component focused on Tom Lea’s life and work and a hands-on lesson in drawing. Tuition and supplies are free courtesy of the EPMA Tom Lea Endowment and the Tom Lea Institute. Each registered student will receive one complimentary sketchpad and pencil, while supplies last.
Free and open to the public. Pre-registration required, call 915 532-1707.
Laura Zamarripa 915 532-1707 ext. 27.
SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2010
Ink Illustration Workshop
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Artist Jorge Santiago will lead the workshop focusing on ink illustration. As a young artist in the 1930’s, Tom Lea worked as an illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post and New Mexico magazines. His illustrations show influences from early 20th century art movements including art deco and post-impressionism. Today, manga and anime have influenced illustrators in cartoons, films, commercials and advertisements. Learn more about these styles, then create illustrations of your own.
$30 Members, $38 Non-Members. Laura Zamarripa 915 532-1707 ext. 27.
Desert Weeds Prints Family Workshop
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
1–4 p.m.
Many of Tom Lea’s paintings show plants indigenous to our region. Artist Oscar Moya will lead families in using everday organic materials like native plants from the backyard to create original monoprints. Children should be at least four years old, and no more than two children per adult.
$10 Members/$25 max, $12 Non-Members/$30 max. Laura Zamarripa 915 532-1707 ext. 27.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2010
Showing of “The Brave Bulls” with discussion following by Mike DeAnda
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
5 p.m.
While researching beef cattle in Mexico for Life Magazine, Tom Lea was captivated by the black fighting cattle and he embarked on writing his first novel, The Brave Bulls, in 1949. It became a New York Times bestseller and was touted as surpassing Hemingway in its exploration of the interior of a bullfighter. In 1951, it was made into a film by Columbia Pictures. Mike DeAnda, a member of the El Paso Bullfighting Foundation, will lead a Q & A session/discussion following the film.
Free and open to the public. 915 543-5433.
Image courtesy of the collection of Charles Horak.
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010
Tom Lea University Session – Tom Lea and the Writing of the “Hands of Cantu”
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Prior to a lecture at the El Paso Public Library, participants in the Tom Lea University will enjoy a special behind-the-scenes tour of Tom Lea’s original illustrations for The Hands of Cantu with El Paso Museum of Art Director, Dr. Michael Tomor. Before writing his historical novel in 1964, Tom Lea imagined his characters first, painting their faces in Chinese ink wash and pinning them up on the walls of his studio. The portraits of old Spanish soldiers, vaqueros and noblemen then spoke their story about the arrival of the first horses in the Americas, and how the indigenous people came to acquire them. The illustrations were a breakthrough for Lea who created half tones with ink wash after all of his prior illustrations had been pen and ink line drawings. The drawings were the gift of Mary Lewis Kleberg in memory of her husband, Richard, who assisted Tom Lea with his research.
Don Teclo Paz, 1964, Chinese ink wash.
Collection of El Paso Museum of Art, gift of Mary Lewis Kleberg.
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
5–6:30 p.m.
In 1964, Tom Lea wrote a novel about fine horsemanship in the Americas. The protagonist, Don Vito Cantu, is a great horseman and breeder of horses who establishes a hacienda in the state of Durango in the early days of a Spanish Viceroy. Lea based some of his story on the knowledge he had of the hacienda Atotonilco in Durango that belonged to his friend, Ray Bell. The Hands of Cantu was praised for the manner in which Lea wrote in English as if it were spoken Spanish. Dr. Mimi Gladstein, Professor of American Literature at the University of Texas at El Paso, will share insights into Tom Lea’s
historical novel.
$45 for the session ($200 per individual/$350 per couple for the series).
Sketching in the Tom Lea Gallery
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
6:30–8:30 p.m.
Refer to the July 15th listing for more information.
SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010
Creative Writing Workshop Inspired by Tom Lea’s Paintings
El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza
10 a.m.–12 noon
Award-winning poet, performer and teaching artist, Monica Gomez, will lead the session in which participants will view and discuss Lea’s works, writing in response to their impressions and then reading aloud. Writings will be compiled for a 2010 Tom Lea Month commemorative anthology.
Free and open to the public. With the support of Museums and Cultural Affairs, City of El Paso and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Maria Aragon, 915 541-4481.
Premier of “Tom Lea’s El Paso”
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
2 p.m.
Capstone productions will premier its newest documentary on Tom Lea’s early days growing up in El Paso, based on a conversation he had with Adair Margo in the study of his home soon before his death in 2001. The film includes never before seen photographs from the Lea family photo album, and is introduced by Laura Bush. Sponsored in part by Humanities Texas and the El Paso Historical Commission.
Free and open to the public. Jackson Polk, 915 543-5433
Tom Jr., Dad and Joe. Photo courtesy of James Lea.
El Paso Museum of History, 510 N. Santa Fe
3 p.m.
Reception following Tom Lea’s El Paso and viewing of Lea Illustrations for W. W. Mill’s Forty Years in
El Paso on loan from Wells Fargo Bank.
Free and open to the public. Jim Murphy, 915 351-3588 ext 7008
SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2010
Garden Party, Tom Lea Exhibit and Program
El Paso Historical Society, 603 West Yandell
4–6 p.m.
Enjoy refreshments in the beautiful historic Burges Perrenot home garden, an exhibit of Tom Lea work from the Historical Society collection, and a program exploring Tom Lea’s life.
915 533-3603.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010
Showing of “The Wonderful Country” with discussion following by Leon Metz
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
5 p.m.
Tom Lea’s second best selling novel was The Wonderful Country, a story set in the Post-Civil War period (1870’s) along the U.S./Mexico Border. This 1959 Western involves arms smuggling into Mexico and was directed by Robert Parish. It stars Robert Mitchum and Julie London, with a cameo appearance by Tom Lea as Peebles the Barber. Leon Metz will discuss U.S. & Mexican history and politics during the 1870’s.
Free and open to the public. 915 543-5433.
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010
Tom Lea University Session
Tom Lea’s “Southwest” Mural and How it Speaks to Me
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
5–6:30 p.m.
Even before visiting the southwestern borderlands of the United States, Islamic art scholar, author and artist Sabiha Al Khemir was drawn to the work of Tom Lea through books. She was especially attracted to his mural Southwest, painted with the help of his wife, Sarah, as a gift to the citizens of El Paso for their public library in 1957. Al Khemir proclaimed the mural her “favorite American painting” and saw it for the first time in 2009, experiencing first hand the landscape it portrays. Now living in New York City, Al Khemir will return to El Paso to speak about the meaning Southwest holds for her. She was the founding director of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, and is currently working on a series about Islamic art and culture for PBS. Her most recent work is a historical novel, The Blue Manuscript.
$45 for the session ($200 per individual/$350 per couple for the series)
Southwest, Mural at the El Paso Public Library downtown
SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010
The Turning Point, Texas Western vs. Utah in 1966
El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon
2 p.m.
In 1966, the football team of Texas Western College had won four games and lost three games, placing it at a pivotal point in its season. A game against Utah was won in the last second of the fourth quarter, resulting in a win for Texas Western (now the University of Texas at El Paso). The victory was so consequential that Tom Lea was commissioned to capture the final play in a painting called The Turning Point that now hangs in the Larry Durham Center on campus. Quarterback Bill Stevens will share footage of the actual game and the story of how he and his teammates helped Tom Lea reconstruct this historic moment in time.
Free and open to the public.
Tom Lea with Bill Stevens. Photo courtesy Bill Stevens.