The following essay is from the 1996 publication Gods, Men, and Heroes: Ancient Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The term "cabinetmaker" emerged as more sophisticated methods of furniture building emerged in mid-17th century England and colonial America. The earliest American settlers brought deeply embedded woodworking traditions with them on their long voyages to the New World. They made good use of the abundance of timber that resulted as they reshaped the forested landscape.

The Hudson River School was an landscape that dominated American art in the mid-19th century. Not an institution of artistic training, the Hudson River School was a group of like-minded landscape painters in New York City and New England. Though their styles varied, the Hudson River School painters all sought to capture the grandeur of nature in America.

The Buddha was probably born c. 553 BCE (though dates range from c. 624 to c. 486 BCE), with the given name Siddhartha. His clan name was Gautama, and he was a member of the Shakya tribe, and thus later in life known as Shakyamuni, the sage of the Shakyas. His father was the tribal chief of the Shakyas and ruled the modern border of India and Nepal.

There is little factual documentation on the life of the Buddha.

From regional artist to Director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, the accomplishments of Jerry Bywaters are synonymous with the growth of art  in Texas. He came to public attention as the dynamic figurehead of the Dallas Nine, a group that emerged in the 1930s. Members of the group focused on individual artistic styles while working with others to portray the "American Scene" by depicting unique qualities of the Texas landscape.