Dallas Art Association Records

In the early 1900s, as plans were being made to build the Carnegie Public Library in Dallas, Texas artist Frank Reaugh suggested that a properly lighted gallery be provided within the new building for displaying art. J. S. Armstrong, a member of the Building Committee for the new library, was so interested in the idea that he offered to give half of any amount that could be raised for the purpose of purchasing and exhibiting works of art. When the Public Library opened October 30, 1901, it contained a beautiful new art gallery on the second floor. This was the first public art gallery in Dallas. Accordingly, the Art Committee of the Dallas Public Library was formed, consisting of the following women: Mrs. Henry Exall, Mrs. Sidney Smith, Mrs. J. E. Schneider, and Mrs. George K. Meyer. The Art Committee immediately began displaying works of art in the gallery, and, eager to raise funds for purchasing works of art, organized an ambitious exhibition in the fall of 1902. The art, loaned by the Texas State Fair Association, was by far the best collection ever shown in Texas at that time. The Art Committee charged twenty-five cents admission for the exhibition, and collected their first funds for acquiring art from that event. From this exhibition two paintings were purchased by popular vote: My Gondolier's Kitchen by Herbert Faulkner and September Moonrise by Childe Hassam. Artist Frank Reaugh also presented one of his best paintings to the new gallery, The Road to the Brazos. He was soon followed by Gustave Wolf, who donated his landscape, The Road to the Creek. These four works of art, all acquired during the first year of the Art Committee's existence, formed the basis for what would become the permanent collection of the Dallas Museum of Art. There was so much interest in the art program that Mrs. Henry Exall, President of the Library Board of Trustees, issued an open invitation for "everyone interested in Art to meet at the Public Library" and make plans for a permanent organization. On January 19, 1903, some fifty citizens responded, and the Dallas Art Association was formed with eighty annual memberships assigned. The new members elected a board of twenty-one trustees to act as the executive body, with Mrs. Charles L. Dexter serving as the first President of the Association. In April of that year, Mrs. Henry Exall presented a check for $1000 as a gift from the late Mrs. A. H. Belo, the Association's first benefactor. True to his word, Mr. J. S. Armstrong followed this gift with his own donation of $500. The goal of the Art Association was to create a permanent art organization to support the visual arts in Dallas. During its first year, the Association provided a scholarship to artist Clyde Chandler so that she could study in Chicago with well-known sculptor Lorado Taft. On October 20, 1903, the trustees voted unanimously to incorporate, and in February of the following year the Association's bylaws and constitution were adopted. Exhibitions were held at Dallas Public Library from 1903 to 1909, when the Association moved into the Textiles and Fine Arts Building in Fair Park and formed the Dallas Free Public Art Gallery. In 1932, the name changed to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. After several subsequent moves, the Museum moved into its first permanent home on the Texas State Fair Grounds in 1936. In 1963, the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts merged with the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, and in the process significantly expanded the magnitude of its permanent collection. In 1970, the Dallas Art Association changed their name to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts to match the name of the institution it operated, to remove confusion.