Tom Lea: Western Beef Cattle
Texas Longhorns, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 32” x 34”, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.34
Round Up Time: Branding a Calf, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 20” x 33.75”, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.32
Tom Lea: Western Beef Cattle
A series of rarely exhibited paintings by the late El Paso artist Tom Lea (Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine) are on display in the permanent gallery of the new Emmett & Miriam McCoy building.
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Born in El Paso, Texas, Tom Lea was a genius of the 20th century with extraordinary gifts as a muralist, illustrator, war correspondent, portraitist, landscape artist, novelist, and historian. His murals, dating from the 1930s, depict the history and character of distinct regions of the United States and can be found on the walls of public buildings from Washington, D.C. to El Paso, Texas.
Lea was passionate about creating work that reflected the life of the Texas regions around him and the life that took place within them. Lea recounts creating his Western Beef Cattle series as he writes,
“Life Magazine employed me as a war artist-correspondent during the entire course of World War II. When the war ended in August 1945, and I reported to Life’s offices in New York, Managing Editor Daniel Longwell generously offered me an unhurried new peacetime assignment: Mr. Longwell suggested that I return home to my wife and son in West Texas and paint – for a change – something calm and quiet and pleasant and remote from warfare…Gratefully and happily, I acted upon Dan Longwell’s suggestion.”
“The result was this series of eleven oil paintings related to the history and development of western beef cattle.”
—Tom Lea
Explore this collection: https://guides.bloombergconnects.org/en-US/guide/theTomLeaInstitute/exhibition/19c182a4-07c2-4e78-afb9-eb637d1393bb
Learn more about the Tom Lea Institute, including their FREE events, exhibitions, and Tours: https://www.tomlea.com/
Wild Cattle of South Texas: Ancestors of the Longhorns, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 22.75″ x 36.5″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.33
Unloading the First Cattle in North America, Vera Cruz, 1521, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 22″ x 28″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.31
Cattle on an Early Mexican Hacienda, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 20″ x 33.75″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.32
Portrait of Hazford Rupert 81st, 1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 34″ x 32.25″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.35
Beef Steer in Feed Lot, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 18″ x 32″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.39
Moving Young Beef Steers from the Range, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 18″ x 32″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.38
Beef Steer in Feed Lot, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 18″ x 32″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.39
Dressing Beef at Swift & Company, Chicago, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 24.75″ x 34.375″, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.41