Grace Exhibit Celebrates 'For Love of the Land'

For Love of the Land: Painting the Texas Landscape showcases the work of historic and contemporary painters in a beautiful expression of love for the alluring nature of the state’s ever-changing terrain.

You do not have to travel far in Texas to experience vast panoramic views. The skies here stretch farther and wider than most people can imagine; sunrises and sunsets are wonders to behold with their spectacular presentations of color. But the true essence of Texas originates with the land.

Texas spans a massive 268,596 square miles, with elevations ranging from 1,000 feet above sea level at the meeting of the Pecos and Rio Grande Rivers, to the highest point of 8,749 feet at Guadalupe Peak. Throughout the state, you can find flat, hilly, sandy, rocky, woodsy, barren, and lush landscapes – each bearing its own distinctive qualities.

Artists have long been inspired by the vibrancy of the Texas landscape, which you can experience in The Grace Museum’s current art exhibition. For Love of the Land: Painting the Texas Landscape showcases the work of historic and contemporary painters in a beautiful expression of love for the alluring nature of the state’s ever-changing terrain. Works on view date from the late 19th century through the early 21st century, revealing images as unique as the artists who captured on canvas the changing seasons, native flora, forests, deserts, rivers, and mountains they encountered.

A number of important, historic Texas artists are represented in the show with original works on loan by Frank Reaugh, L. O. Griffith, Julian Onderdonk, Robert Onderdonk, Otis Dozier, William Lester, and many others. Curated into the mix also are contemporary landscape painters such as Dennis Blagg, Bob Stuth-Wade, Jane K. Starks, Scott Gentling, Jim Woodson, and Abilene native Randy Bacon.

“I’ve always been attracted to the quality of light, precise colors, and big skies of my native state,” says Bacon. “Communicating a sense of place, my subjects are real places I know well, often where memory and reality connect.” Bacon’s spectacular oil painting of a lightning storm in Taylor County is prominently displayed just inside the main gallery.

Throughout the spring and summer, Grace visitors are invited to experience the majesty of the land on this painterly trip across the Lone Star State. They can also test their knowledge of Texas geography with interactive prompts incorporated to explore the state’s regions and rich diversity of ecosystems. For those who want even more, check out the museum’s online calendar for upcoming special classes and events inspired by the exhibition (thegracemuseum.org/events).

For Love of the Land: Painting the Texas Landscape serves as a visual time capsule, a tribute to romantic visions of unspoiled places, and a call for hopeful stewardship of our natural environment. This collection of works will be on view in the museum’s first floor art galleries through Sept. 21. A free reception celebrating the exhibition will be held Friday, May 3 with a special presentation by Michael Grauer, McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture, Curator of Cowboy Collections & Western Art at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.