KELLY FEARING (1918-2011) Fearing was a professor emeritus in university's Department of Art and Art History. He taught at the university from 1947-87, and was presented the College of Fine Arts' E. William Doty Award in 2007, the college's highest honor recognizing him as an individual of distinction in his field who has demonstrated extraordinary interest in the college."Kelly Fearing was the quintessential Renaissance man," said College of Fine Arts Associate Dean Ken Hale. "He was an artist, an author and an educator. His talent was extraordinary. He worked in almost all traditional mediums and excelled in oil painting and collage. Fearing was very well educated in all of the arts and enthusiastically passed that knowledge on to literally thousands of students. The University of Texas and the state of Texas have benefited greatly from the creativity and generosity of Kelly Fearing. His passing is a loss for us all."Born in Fordyce, Ark., Fearing was raised in Louisiana, studied art at Louisiana Tech University, earned a master's degree from Columbia University and went to Fort Worth during World War II to serve his country in a defense job. While being trained in graphic drafting for a company that was making bombers for the U.S. military, Fearing was introduced to other aspiring artists in the Fort Worth area. This group of avant-guard printmakers and artists became known as the Fort Worth Circle, and Fearing was one of its core members. Collectively, they were instrumental in introducing modernist ideas to Texas art.After teaching at Texas Wesleyan College from 1945-47, he came to The University of Texas at Austin as the Ashbel Smith Professor in Art in 1947. He retired from the university in 1987 and continued to work as a professional artist. His art has been referred to as magical realist, mystical naturalist and Romantic surrealist.As a pioneer in art education in America, Fearing founded The University of Texas Junior Art Project, the first visual arts outreach program of its kind in Texas. The program offered children of all ages and from all economic backgrounds free, university-based instruction and exposure to the arts. Selected Biographical and Career Highlights· 1918 Born in Fordyce, Arkansas· 1941 BA, Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, Ruston, Louisiana· 1941-42 Teacher, Winfield Public Schools, Louisiana· 1943-45 Guest Professor, Texas Western College, El Paso, Texas· 1945-47 Instructor, Texas Wesleyan College, Fort Worth, Texas· 1950 MA, Columbia University, New York, New York· 1947-87 Professor of Art, University of Texas at Austin, Texas· 2007 Recipient, William E. Doty Award· 2009 Recipient, Texas Biennial Tribute Artist· 2011 Died in Austin, Texas Selected Prizes, Awards· Texas General/Annual: Purchase Prize 1956; Cash Prize 1945, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1963; Recommended for Purchase Prize 1949, 19501945 Cash Prize, The Aquarist, oil1947 Cash Prize for Dream of Jacob, oil1949 Cash Prize and Recommended for Purchase Prize, The Red Sea, oil1950 Recommended for Purchase Prize, Man in a Tide Pool, oil1953 Cash Prize, Tobias and the Angel, oil1954 Cash Prize, Landscape with Peacock, oil1955 Cash Prize, St. John in the Wilderness, oil1956 Purchase Prize, Yellow After the Rain, oil1963 Cash Prize, Sleeping Philosopher in a Landscape Developing, oil· Fort Worth Local: First Prize 1945; Popular Prize 19441944 Popular Prize, USO Street Dance1945 First Prize, The Kite Flyers, oil· Texas Fine Arts: Purchase Prize 1954; Cash Prize 1952, 1955 (2 works), 19561952 Cash Prize1954 Purchase Prize1955 Cash Prize for Watercolor, watercolor1955 Cash Prize, Spring Festival1956 Cash Prize· Other Exhibitions: Purchase Prize 1945 Texas Print Exhibition; Merit Award 1956 DD Feldman; Honorable Mention 1962 Longview National Invitational1945 Purchase Prize, The Collector, etching, 5th Annual Texas Print Exhibition1962 Honorable Mention, Longview National Invitational Selected Exhibitions· 1941 Solo, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana· 1944 24th Exhibition of the Southern States Art League, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1944 Fort Worth Local Artists Annual, Fort Worth Art Association Gallery, Public Library, Fort Worth, Texas (popular prize)· 1944 6th Texas General Exhibition 1944-1945, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Witte Museum, San Antonio; University of Texas at Austin, Texas· 1945 Fort Worth Local Artists Annual, Fort Worth Art Association Gallery, Public Library, Fort Worth, Texas (purchase prize)· 1945 7th Texas General Exhibition 1945-1946, circulated: Witte Museum, San Antonio; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; University of Texas at Austin, Texas (cash prize)· 1945 Prints of Fort Worth Artists, Fort Worth Art Association Gallery, Public Library, Fort Worth, Texas· 1945 5th Annual Texas Print Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas (1st prize)· 1946 8th Texas General Exhibition 1946-1947, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas· 1947 55 Works of Modern Art Owned in Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1947 6th Annual Texas Print Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1947 9th Texas General Exhibition 1947-1948, circulated: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas (cash prize)· 1948 10th Texas General Exhibition 1948-1949, circulated: Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas 1945 Prize, 5th Annual Texas Print Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1948 Watercolors by 16 Texas Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1948 University of Texas Art Faculty Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1949 Solo, Fresno State College, Fresno, California· 1949 11th Annual Texas Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture 1949-1950, circulated: Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas (cash prize and recommended for purchase prize)· 1950 Texas Wildcat, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, California· 1950, 1960, 1963 Artists West of the Mississippi, Colorado Springs Art Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado· 1950 12th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1950-1951, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (recommended for purchase prize)· 1951 Newcomers: First Showing of a New Generation, Downtown Gallery, New York, New York· 1952 Annual Juried Exhibition, Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin, Texas (cash prize)· 1952 Imaginative Paintings by Kelly Fearing, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California· 1952 Young Collections 1952, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1952 Kelly Fearing, Betty McLean Gallery, Dallas, Texas· 1952 Texas Contemporary Artists, M. Knoedler & Company, New York, New York; Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Texas (catalogue)· 1952 Solo, Cotton Memorial Galleries, Texas Western College, El Paso, Texas· 1952 14th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1952, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1953 University of Texas Faculty Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1953 Solo, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California· 1953 15th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1953, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas (cash prize)· 1954 149th Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania· 1954 Sacred Art, Catholic University, Washington, DC· 1954 Seventeen Years: An Exhibition of the First Prize Winners in the 17 Annual Exhibitions of Work by Fort Worth Artists Held by the Fort Worth Art Association, Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas (catalogue)· 1954 16th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1954, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas (cash prize)· 1954 Annual Juried Exhibition, Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin, Texas (purchase prize)· 1954 Religious Art Today, Brown Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts· 1954-56 Artist’s Panorama Traveling Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania· 1955 Two Texas Artists (Kelly Fearing and Mildred Wood Dixon), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1955 Pittsburgh International, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania· 1955 Solo, Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas· 1955 The World Around Us: 100 Years of American Landscape, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1955 Annual Juried Exhibition, Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin, Texas (cash prize for watercolor)· 1955 Spring Arts Festival, Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin, Texas (cash prize)· 1955 Young Collections 1955, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1955 17th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1955-1956, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin, Texas (cash prize)· 1955, 1959, 1963 Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois· 1956 6th Southwestern Exhibition of Prints and Drawings, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, traveled to: Centenary College, Shreveport, Louisiana; Elisabet Ney Museum, Austin, Texas; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Texas Tech College Museum, Lubbock; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; University of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Oklahoma A&M College, Stillwater· 1956 Gulf-Caribbean Art Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, traveled to: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica; Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg; Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado (catalogue)· 1956 Young Collections 1956, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1956 Annual Juried Exhibition, Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin, Texas (cash prize)· 1956 Merit Award, D. D. Feldman Collection of Contemporary Texas Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (1958, Dallas???)· 1956 D. D. Feldman Collection of Contemporary Texas Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1956 18th Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1956-1957, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin; Museum, Texas Tech, Lubbock, Texas (purchase prize)· 1957 Survey of Painting in Texas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, circulated by American Federation of Arts (catalogue)· 1957 22nd Annual Midyear Juried Exhibition, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio· 1957 Summer Group Exhibition, Edwin Hewitt Gallery, New York, New York· 1957 Young Collections 1957, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1958 Religious Art of the Western World, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1958 20th Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1958-1959, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; TFAA, Laguna Gloria Gallery, Austin; Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont; San Angelo Art Club, San Angelo; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1959 Made in Texas by Texans, Dallas Museum of Contemporary Art, Sheraton-Dallas Hotel, Dallas, Texas (catalogue)· 1959 21st Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1959-1960, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio; Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont; Museum, Texas Tech, Lubbock; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1960 Southwestern Art: A Sampling of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1961 Invitational Exhibition of Painters Born in Arkansas, Museum of Fine Arts, Little Rock, Arkansas· 1962, 1963, 1975 Invitational, Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Longview, Texas (honorable mention 1962)· 1963 University of Texas Art Faculty—Past and Present, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1963 25th Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 1963-1964, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Centennial Art Museum, Corpus Christi; Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont; El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso; Witte Museum, San Antonio; University of Texas at Austin, Texas (cash prize)· 1963 The Versatile Shell, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas· 1963 59th Annual Exhibition of Western Art, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado· 1963, 1966 Christocentric Exhibition, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois· 1964 Solo, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas· 1964 New York World’s Fair, Texas Pavilion, New York, New York· 1964-65 The Bird in Art, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona and the Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas· 1966 Solo, Gallery of Visual Arts, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana· 1967 Solo, University of Texas Art Museum, Austin, Texas· 1968 Texas Painting and Sculpture 1968, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1969 Solo, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas· 1971 Texas Painting and Sculpture 71, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas· 1971–72 Texas Painting and Sculpture: The 20th Century, Pollack Galleries, Owen Arts Center, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, traveled to: Witte Confluence Museum, HemisFair Plaza, San Antonio; University Art Museum, University of Texas at Austin; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth; The Museum, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas (catalogue)· 1974 Solo, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas· 1977 Solo, DuBose Gallery, Houston, Texas· 1978 U.S. Drawings, Museum, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas· 1978 Solo, L and L Gallery, Longview, Texas· 1979 Made in Texas, Huntington Gallery, University Art Museum, University of Texas at Austin, Texas (catalogue)· 1981 Solo, Spencer Gallery, Fine Arts Center, University of Arkansas, Monticello, Arkansas· 1981 Solo, Moffett Gallery, School of Art and Architecture, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana· 1983 Images of Texas, Huntington Art Gallery, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, traveled to: Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi; Amarillo Art Center, Amarillo, Texas (catalogue)· 1984 Works from the Friends Collections, Art Gallery, School of Art and Architecture, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana· 1985 Solo, Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas· 1986 Solo, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas· 1986 Beyond Regionalism: The Fort Worth School (1945-1955), Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas· 1992 Prints of the Fort Worth Circle, 1940-1960, Huntington Art Gallery, University of Texas at Austin, Texas· 1992 Kelly Fearing: The Influence of “The Fort Worth School,” 1939-1955, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas· 1995 Solo, Flatbed Press & Gallery, Austin, Texas· 1996 Solo, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas· 1997 Jupiter’s Loves and His Children, Georgia Art Museum, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia· 1998 Early Texas Art: A Collectors’ Exhibition, Museum of the Big Bend, Alpine, Texas· 1999 Kelly Fearing: A Search for Mystical Concepts, Pascal/Robinson Galleries, Houston, Texas· 2000 Solo, Flatbed Press & Gallery, Austin, Texas· 2001 First Light: Local Art and the Fort Worth Public Library 1901–1961 . . . A Centennial Exhibit, Fort Worth Central Library, Fort Worth, Texas (catalogue)· 2002 The Mystical World of Kelly Fearing: A Sixty Year Retrospective, traveling exhibition, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas; Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas; Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, Texas (catalogue)· 2002-03 The Eyes of Texas—The Lone Star State as Seen by Her Artists, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo, Texas; Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas (catalogue)· 2005 Celebrating Early Texas Art: Treasures from Dallas-Fort Worth Private Collections, 1900-1960, Fort Worth Community Center, Fort Worth, Texas (catalogue)· 2007 A Life of Art: 1943-Present, Lotus Asian Art and Antiques, Austin, Texas· 2007 Texas Modern: The Rediscovery of Early Texas Abstraction (1935-1965), Martin Museum of Art, Baylor University, Waco, Texas (catalogue)· 2008 Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas (publication)· 2009 Texas Paper: Watercolors, Pastels and Drawings from the Lone Star State, 1938-2008, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas· 2009-10 Texas Art Seen, Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas· 2011 Southeast Texas Art: Cross-Currents and Influences, 1925–1965, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas· 2011 Fresh and Salty, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas· 2011 Breakthrough: Sixty Years of Texas Abstraction, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas· 2014 A New Visual Vocabulary: Developments in Texas Modernism 1935-1965, One Allen Center, Lobby Gallery, Houston, Texas· 2013 Rhythms of Modernism, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas Selected Public CollectionsDallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TexasGrace Museum, Abilene, TexasModern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TexasMuseum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas