Jerry Newman (American, 1934-2008) Jerry Newman was born in Beaumont in 1934. Newman attended the University of Texas at Austin where one of his professors was the important early Texas artist Everett Spruce. The artist's landscape paintings from his early period reflect an adaptation of styles that he likely experienced while working with the early modernist Spruce at UT Austin. Newman earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Southern California and was a professor of art at Lamar University for more than 40 years. He retired in 1999 and received the honor of distinguished professor emeritus. Some of his former students include John Alexander and Paul Manes among numerous other successful artists. Newman's own career as a painter, primarily depicting wildlife scenes, was prolific and he exhibited his work in the Smithsonian, the Art Museum of Southwest Texas, and other museums across the U.S. Newman's works have also hung in the Spaso House, the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Russia, and galleries in Paris. Newman's work was featured in countless exhibitions and juried competitions both nationally and internationally.