GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Born in Cuero, Texas, Thomas M. Stell, Jr. graduated from the Rice Institute in 1922 and received the Waterman Scholarship in 1924 to study at the Art Students League in New York. For the next five years he also studied at the National Academy of Design; his teachers in this period included George Bridgman, George Luks, and Charles Hawthorne. While in New York, he served as a mural assistant to the painter Augustus Vincent Tack and developed an interest in stage design. At the end of this fruitful period of study, Stell's work won two successive honorable mentions in the Prix de Rome competitions at the National Academy.
Stell taught at the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Architectural Club during the winter of 1928 to 1929 and returned to the city after he earned his master's degree from Columbia University in 1931. As an instructor equipped with numerous reproductions of Italian and Flemish Renaissance paintings, Stell helped stamp the "look" of Texas art for a generation. Everett Spruce, William Lester, Florence McClung and Lloyd Goff are among those who benefited from Stell's career as an educator. His strong views on art and his disciplined manner of instruction, as well as his deep understanding of art history, were remembered by many of his students.
In 1934, under the auspices of the Public Works of Art Project, he painted murals depicting the fall of the Alamo and the surrender of Santa Ana for Forest Avenue High School in Dallas. Later, under the Treasury Department programs, Stell executed murals for the post offices in Perry, Oklahoma, and Teague and Longview, Texas. Stell served for several years as regional director of the Works Progress Administration's Index of American Design, and during the preparations for the Texas Centennial he assisted Julian Garnsey and Pierre Bourdelleon the mural projects in the main exposition buildings.
Stell was a slow, meticulous painter who did not leave a large body of work. Although he was best known for his portraiture, his artistic career included Broadway set designs and public murals. He was also a well-regarded art educator, lecturer on early Texas crafts, and a member of the Lone Star Printmakers group.
Adapted from
- Rick Stewart, Lone Star Regionalism: The Dallas Nine and Their Circle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1985), 188-89.
- Susan Barnes, DMA Acquisition Proposal (1990.187), n.d.
- William Keyse Rudolph, DMA Label copy (1990.187), March 2007
NOTES
This note was originally created and submitted by Erin Pinon, summer 2016. I am removing the #draft tag and requesting that the content be pulled from Brain and the Google Docs routing process so that I can review formatting, tagging, and text. After review, the note will be retagged with #draft and proceed to be harvested, routed, and revised as usual. (EAS, 8/26/2016)
Fun facts sources- Metropolis fact found in the TX History online biography, the comparison with Hogue came from Barnes' acquisition proposal.
More than one source referred to Stell attending Rice Institute. Internet searches could not confirm if this is an alternate name for Rice University. Online, Rice Institute most frequently refers to an international agricultural school and this did not make logical sense for Stell's biography.
Added the following geographies to TMS:
D. 3.30.1981 (died while working on mural for San Antonio, but not sure where he died? Buried in Cuero, TX)
Trained- Houston (1921-1922) Attended Rice University.
Trained- NYC- (1923-1931) Art Students League (Waterman Scholarhsip, 1923-25); National Academy of Design (1924-29, Prix de Rome honorable mention 1927, 1929); teachers included Bridgeman, Luks, and Hawthorne. MA from Columbia University (1929-31).
Worked- Dallas- (1928-29, 1931-38) Taught at Dallas Art Institute and Dallas Architectural Club; students included William Lester, Lloyd Goff, Verda Ligon, Florence McClung, Everett Spruce; PWAP mural- Forest Avenue High School; TX Centennial- mural assistant
Corsicana, OK- worked (1934) PWAP mural at F.N. Drake Library
Perry, OK- worked- (1941) Treasury Department post office mural, "Range Branding Down by the Big Tank," now in Perry Historical Museum
Teague, TX- worked- (1940) Treasury Department post office mural, "Cattle Roundup."
Longview, TX- (1937?) Treasury Department post office mural, "Rural East Texas."
San Antonio- worked- (1938-45 and 1966-81) Regional Director of WPA Index of American Design, taught at Trinity University (1942-43).
Austin, TX- trained- (1947-55) University of TX
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Thomas Matthew Stell Jr.~Read Kendall Curlee's biography for this artist on the Handbook of Texas Online (published by the Texas State Historical Association).
- Dallas Nine~Read more about this group on the Handbook of Texas Online (published by the Texas State Historical Association).
- Semiconductors & Symbolism: Thomas Stell's Ceramic Murals for Texas Instruments~Read Linda East's essay about Stell's natural, scientific, and technological imagery in thirteen murals commissioned by Texas Instruments in 1958. (Blog of the Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University)
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- Stell's cinematographic experience includes developing the double-exposure settings for the American prologue to Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927).
- Along with Alexandre Hogue, Stell was an important influence on, and teacher of, Texas artists during the 1930s and 1940s. Also like his Dallas contemporary, Stell and Hogue both denied any influence of the Surrealists, but they were very knowledgeable of the then current movements and traces of surrealism can be found in both their works.
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General Description
Born in Cuero, Texas, Thomas M. Stell, Jr. graduated from the Rice Institute in 1922 and received the Waterman Scholarship in 1924 to study at the Art Students League in New York. For the next five years he also studied at the National Academy of Design; his teachers in this period included George Bridgman, George Luks, and Charles Hawthorne. While in New York, he served as a mural assistant to the painter Augustus Vincent Tack and developed an interest in stage design. At the end of this fruitful period of study, Stell's work won two successive honorable mentions in the Prix de Rome competitions at the National Academy.
Stell taught at the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Architectural Club during the winter of 1928 to 1929 and returned to the city after he earned his master's degree from Columbia University in 1931. As an instructor equipped with numerous reproductions of Italian and Flemish Renaissance paintings, Stell helped stamp the "look" of Texas art for a generation. Everett Spruce, William Lester, Florence McClung and Lloyd Goff are among those who benefited from Stell's career as an educator. His strong views on art and his disciplined manner of instruction, as well as his deep understanding of art history, were remembered by many of his students.
In 1934, under the auspices of the Public Works of Art Project, he painted murals depicting the fall of the Alamo and the surrender of Santa Ana for Forest Avenue High School in Dallas. Later, under the Treasury Department programs, Stell executed murals for the post offices in Perry, Oklahoma, and Teague and Longview, Texas. Stell served for several years as regional director of the Works Progress Administration's Index of American Design, and during the preparations for the Texas Centennial he assisted Julian Garnsey and Pierre Bourdelleon the mural projects in the main exposition buildings.
Stell was a slow, meticulous painter who did not leave a large body of work. Although he was best known for his portraiture, his artistic career included Broadway set designs and public murals. He was also a well-regarded art educator, lecturer on early Texas crafts, and a member of the Lone Star Printmakers group.
Adapted from
- Rick Stewart, Lone Star Regionalism: The Dallas Nine and Their Circle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1985), 188-89.
- Susan Barnes, DMA Acquisition Proposal (1990.187), n.d.
- William Keyse Rudolph, DMA Label copy (1990.187), March 2007
Fun Facts
- Stell's cinematographic experience includes developing the double-exposure settings for the American prologue to Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927).
- Along with Alexandre Hogue, Stell was an important influence on, and teacher of, Texas artists during the 1930s and 1940s. Also like his Dallas contemporary, Stell and Hogue both denied any influence of the Surrealists, but they were very knowledgeable of the then current movements and traces of surrealism can be found in both their works.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Thomas Matthew Stell Jr.~Read Kendall Curlee's biography for this artist on the Handbook of Texas Online (published by the Texas State Historical Association).
- Dallas Nine~Read more about this group on the Handbook of Texas Online (published by the Texas State Historical Association).
- Semiconductors & Symbolism: Thomas Stell's Ceramic Murals for Texas Instruments~Read Linda East's essay about Stell's natural, scientific, and technological imagery in thirteen murals commissioned by Texas Instruments in 1958. (Blog of the Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University)
Notes
This note was originally created and submitted by Erin Pinon, summer 2016. I am removing the #draft tag and requesting that the content be pulled from Brain and the Google Docs routing process so that I can review formatting, tagging, and text. After review, the note will be retagged with #draft and proceed to be harvested, routed, and revised as usual. (EAS, 8/26/2016)
Fun facts sources- Metropolis fact found in the TX History online biography, the comparison with Hogue came from Barnes' acquisition proposal.
More than one source referred to Stell attending Rice Institute. Internet searches could not confirm if this is an alternate name for Rice University. Online, Rice Institute most frequently refers to an international agricultural school and this did not make logical sense for Stell's biography.
Added the following geographies to TMS:
D. 3.30.1981 (died while working on mural for San Antonio, but not sure where he died? Buried in Cuero, TX)
Trained- Houston (1921-1922) Attended Rice University.
Trained- NYC- (1923-1931) Art Students League (Waterman Scholarhsip, 1923-25); National Academy of Design (1924-29, Prix de Rome honorable mention 1927, 1929); teachers included Bridgeman, Luks, and Hawthorne. MA from Columbia University (1929-31).
Worked- Dallas- (1928-29, 1931-38) Taught at Dallas Art Institute and Dallas Architectural Club; students included William Lester, Lloyd Goff, Verda Ligon, Florence McClung, Everett Spruce; PWAP mural- Forest Avenue High School; TX Centennial- mural assistant
Corsicana, OK- worked (1934) PWAP mural at F.N. Drake Library
Perry, OK- worked- (1941) Treasury Department post office mural, "Range Branding Down by the Big Tank," now in Perry Historical Museum
Teague, TX- worked- (1940) Treasury Department post office mural, "Cattle Roundup."
Longview, TX- (1937?) Treasury Department post office mural, "Rural East Texas."
San Antonio- worked- (1938-45 and 1966-81) Regional Director of WPA Index of American Design, taught at Trinity University (1942-43).
Austin, TX- trained- (1947-55) University of TX
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