1986.232 Everett Spruce, Tree and Rocks

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION  
Veteran encapsulates the powerful forces—geographical and climatic—that have shaped the Texas landscape. The tree’s twisted limbs reflect its sustained struggle to gain a foothold in terrain that can at times be both uncompromising and inhospitable. Everett Spruce’s expressionistic treatment of the landscape conveys a sense of sadness and endurance intended to resonate on both a personal and a cosmic scale.
A native of Arkansas, Spruce was affiliated in the 1930s with the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. He was a major figure in the Dallas Nine—the name given to a group of artists whose primary focus was the region’s people and landscape.

Excerpt from
Sue Canterbury, Label text, 2018.

NOTES
Created in 1932
Object File reviewed

Updated first sentence with new title 12/30/2020- changed from Tree and Rocks to Veteran. (ES)

A native of Arkansas, Spruce was affiliated in the 1930s with the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts before leaving to teach at the University of Texas, Austin. Tree and Rocks is an expressionistic vision of the often destructive force of nature in the Southwest. A dead tree erupts from a sea of jagged rocks, its writhing form seemingly struck  by lightning. In paintings such as this, Spruce looked beyond appearance to capture the vigorous energy inherent in the land.

labels from the Dallas Nine folder in the Educaiton files


Tree and Rocks encapsulates the powerful forces—geographical and climatic—that have shaped the Texas landscape. The tree’s twisted limbs reflect its sustained struggle to gain a foothold in terrain that can at times be both uncompromising and inhospitable. Everett Spruce’s expressionistic treatment of the landscape conveys a sense of sadness and endurance intended to resonate on both a personal and a cosmic scale. A native of Arkansas, Spruce was affiliated in the 1930s with the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. He was a major figure in the Dallas Nine—the name given to a group of artists whose primary focus was the region’s people and landscape.

Current Public Notes, Sue Canterbury, Label text, January 2018 

Exhibition: Lone Star Regionalism 1987-88

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted location and place of origin: Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503

Process/materials
Oil on Masonite

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 
From 1986: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Maggie Joe and Alexandre Hogue, Tulsa, OK

AUDIO ASSETS 

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES 

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1986.232

Category
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General Description
 
Veteran encapsulates the powerful forces—geographical and climatic—that have shaped the Texas landscape. The tree’s twisted limbs reflect its sustained struggle to gain a foothold in terrain that can at times be both uncompromising and inhospitable. Everett Spruce’s expressionistic treatment of the landscape conveys a sense of sadness and endurance intended to resonate on both a personal and a cosmic scale.
A native of Arkansas, Spruce was affiliated in the 1930s with the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. He was a major figure in the Dallas Nine—the name given to a group of artists whose primary focus was the region’s people and landscape.

Excerpt from
Sue Canterbury, Label text, 2018.

Fun Facts

Archival Resources

Web Resources
 
Notes
Created in 1932
Object File reviewed

Updated first sentence with new title 12/30/2020- changed from Tree and Rocks to Veteran. (ES)

A native of Arkansas, Spruce was affiliated in the 1930s with the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts before leaving to teach at the University of Texas, Austin. Tree and Rocks is an expressionistic vision of the often destructive force of nature in the Southwest. A dead tree erupts from a sea of jagged rocks, its writhing form seemingly struck  by lightning. In paintings such as this, Spruce looked beyond appearance to capture the vigorous energy inherent in the land.

labels from the Dallas Nine folder in the Educaiton files


Tree and Rocks encapsulates the powerful forces—geographical and climatic—that have shaped the Texas landscape. The tree’s twisted limbs reflect its sustained struggle to gain a foothold in terrain that can at times be both uncompromising and inhospitable. Everett Spruce’s expressionistic treatment of the landscape conveys a sense of sadness and endurance intended to resonate on both a personal and a cosmic scale. A native of Arkansas, Spruce was affiliated in the 1930s with the Dallas Art Institute and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. He was a major figure in the Dallas Nine—the name given to a group of artists whose primary focus was the region’s people and landscape.

Current Public Notes, Sue Canterbury, Label text, January 2018 

Exhibition: Lone Star Regionalism 1987-88

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted location and place of origin: Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503

Process/materials
Oil on Masonite

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 
From 1986: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Maggie Joe and Alexandre Hogue, Tulsa, OK

AUDIO ASSETS 

VIDEO ASSETS

rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1986.232
tags
#draft
#completed
%copyedited_Gail
Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503
%Archived
oil paint: AAT: 300015050
landscapes (representations): AAT: 300015636
trees (plants): AAT: 300132410
Spruce_Everett Franklin: ULAN: 500041093
rock (inorganic material): AAT: 300011692
@Schiller
*American Art
sky: AAT: 300263064
Masonite (TM): AAT: 300014205
@Russell
Great Depression: DMA
The Dust Bowl: DMA
source file
object_notes_1_a-0005.xml.nores