Charles T. Williams

Last updated
Charles T. Williams
BornMarch 24, 1918
Weatherford, Texas
DiedMarch 30, 1966
Fort Worth, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Education Hardin Simmons University, Texas Christian University
Known for Sculpture
Movement Modernism, Abstraction

Charles Truett Williams was considered one of the first significant modern sculptors in Texas. [1] Active in the mid-twentieth century, the Fort Worth-based artist became known for his inventive, abstracted sculptures, steering away from traditional, life-like renderings then popular in Texas. [2] His mastery spanned across a multitude of media including wood, stone, sheet copper, cast bronze, steel, iron, and found objects. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Williams was born to T. L. and Lucy (Hurst) Williams, on March 24, 1918, in Weatherford, Texas. [4] After high school, he worked at a drugstore at the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, and saved up for college. [1] He attended Abilene Christian College and Hardin Simmons University, following which he worked as an engineer. [1]

After settling in Fort Worth in 1947, [4] he attended evening classes at TCU while continuing to work for the Army Corps of Engineers. [1] He received both his BFA and MFA in sculpture from TCU. [1]

Career

Williams was deployed to Paris in 1945, with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II; his time there exposed him to various modernist movements and artists. [1] He settled in Atlanta, Georgia, upon his return from France, with his wife, Louise, and son, Karl, where he worked under the Army Corps of Engineers as a draftsman. [1] After his wife's death in 1947, Williams moved to Fort Worth with his son to live with his parents, continuing his career with the Army Corps of Engineers in Dallas. [1] He pursued his love for sculpture in his spare time, using his garage as his studio, and enrolled at TCU for formal training. [1] He later established a professional studio c.1952 which became a hub for his artistic contemporaries, [1] including members of the Fort Worth Circle. [5] Throughout his time in Fort Worth, he was encouraging of many young artists including Jim Love, David McManaway, and Roy Fridge. [1]

He had two solo shows at the Fort Worth Art Center (now the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth) - one in 1952, his first ever solo exhibition, and the other in 1957, [1] which included close to 50 of his works. [3] Other solo shows include:

Some of the group shows in which he participated include exhibitions at the Dallas Museum of Contemporary Arts (now Dallas Museum of Art), Southern Methodist University, Witte Museum, University of Texas at Austin, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Texas Tech University, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Amarillo Museum of Art, and Valley House Gallery. [1]

After a heart attack in 1955, he decided to retire from the Army Corps of Engineers, and pursue sculpture full-time, despite experiencing pain from a previous heart attack. [1]

Work

Williams employed his engineering skills to visualize 2D renderings in 3D form, demonstrating masterful dexterity across his work, especially when creating symmetry and repeating elements in pieces like Lead Head (1964) and Fun with Freud (1964). [1]  

Many of his significant works were considered organic abstractions, primarily influenced by European artists encountered during his time in Paris, including Picasso, Braque, Miró, Giacometti, Brancusi, and Arp. [1] Much like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, Williams recognized the importance of incorporating negative space within sculptural compositions. [1]  

His lifelong fascination with calligraphy is believed to have manifested in marks and scores drawn on metal surfaces in pieces like Solar Disc (1964), and in his 9.5-ft high installation, Weiner Fountain (1954), he abstracted elements of Chinese calligraphic symbols to create plantlike structures using bronze rods and sheet metal. [1] Captivated by Mesoamerican culture, Williams traveled to Mexico, Yucatán, and Guatemala, to study their art; his piece, Earth Mother (1958), drew inspiration from Chacmool's reclining pose, upright head, and raised knees. [1]   

Williams also fashioned humorous assemblages in playful reference to his artistic peers; The Exhibitionist (1962) - a portrait of Jim Love - and Moritz the Elephant (1965) are two such examples of his sculptural translation of conversations with friends. [1] He enjoyed crafting “found art” made from carburetors, jacks, flotsam, driftwood and more, often gifting smaller works to friends. [1] His installation, Totems Suburbium (1962), used the undersides of five sink basins, each mounted on timber poles to create a line of watchful sentinel-like figures. [1]

Williams received many requests for public and commercial commissions. [1] The Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth commissioned three pieces, Odalisque (1954), Fountain Sculpture (1955), and Golfer (1955). [1] His pieces created for long-time patron, Ted Weiner, were tributes to his inspirations - Calder is the Only One (1955) and Earth Mother (1958), which honors similar work by Moore. [1] Other commissions include sculptural work for the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Houston, St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth, and Texas Turnpike Authority in Arlington. [1] He collaborated with Octavio Medellin on a mural commission at the Temple Emanu-El in Dallas. [1]

Though he rarely referenced his time at war in his work, Helmet (Pathos) (1962) is an exception, in which he crafted a soldier's helmet, with crude edges, that sits atop a steel stand on its crown to accentuate its emptiness, representing the dark realities of war. [1]

In his later works, Williams began experimenting with color by using automobile paints and coating processes in pieces like Veritable Apparition (1965), Components (1965), and Small Blue Torus (1966). [1]  

Collections

Williams' work can be found in the collections of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, [6] Dallas Museum of Art, [7] and the Old Jail Art Center. [8]

Personal life

Williams and his first wife, Louise, had one son, Karl Williams. [1] Upon his return to the United States after the war, they lived in Atlanta, Georgia, until Louise's death in 1947, which was caused by viral pneumonia. [1] Williams moved with his son to Fort Worth shortly after, where he remained until his death in 1966. [1] In 1952, he married Anita Stuart, his son's third grade teacher, with whom he traveled to various countries to study art and culture. [1] He died of heart failure at the age of 48. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellsworth Kelly</span> American painter

Ellsworth Kelly was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, color and form, similar to the work of John McLaughlin and Kenneth Noland. Kelly often employed bright colors. He lived and worked in Spencertown, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Shapiro</span> American sculptor

Joel Elias Shapiro is an American sculptor renowned for his dynamic work composed of simple rectangular shapes. The artist is classified as a Minimalist as demonstrated in his works, which were mostly defined through the materials used, without allusions to subjects outside of the works. He lives and works in New York City. He is married to the artist Ellen Phelan.

Erick Lawrence Swenson is an American figurative sculptor living and working in Dallas, Texas.

Larry Bell is an American contemporary artist and sculptor. He is best known for his glass boxes and large-scaled illusionistic sculptures. He is a grant recipient from, among others, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, and his artworks are found in the collections of many major cultural institutions. He lives and works in Taos, New Mexico, and maintains a studio in Venice, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Love (artist)</span> American sculptor

Jim Love was an American modernist sculptor who was born in Amarillo, Texas. He graduated from Baylor University in 1952 with a baccalaureate in business administration. After graduation, He moved to Houston, Texas. He rose to prominence in 1961 when his assemblages of found objects were included in the groundbreaking exhibition The Art of Assemblage at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Jim Love died in May 2005. Margaret McDermott, wife of University of Texas at Dallas founder Eugene McDermott presented the Jack sculpture to the university in 1976. The sculpture is affectionately known on campus as the Love Jack. In May 2021, the "Love Jack" was moved to a more central location on the UTD campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Surls</span> American sculptor

James Arthur Surls is an American modernist artist and educator, known for his large sculptures. He founded the Lawndale Alternative Arts Space at the University of Houston in the 1970s.

Bryan Hunt is an American sculptor who was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on June 7, 1947. His family moved to Tampa, Florida in 1955. He worked at the Kennedy Space Center as an engineer's aide and draftsman, 1967–1968, during the NASA Apollo Program. In 1968, he moved to Los Angeles to enroll in the Otis Art Institute, where he received a BFA in 1971.

Joseph Havel is a postmodernist American sculptor who was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Havel earned a BFA in Studio Arts from the University of Minnesota and an MFA from Pennsylvania State University. He received a National Endowment for the Arts Artist Fellowship in 1987 and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Artist's Fellowship in 1995. He lives and works in Houston, Texas and is Director of the Glassell School of Art.

Linda Ridgway is an American artist in Dallas, TX known for sculpting and printmaking works. Her focus is on themes of femininity, tradition, and heritage. Ridgway is known for her bronze wall reliefs.

Helen Altman is an artist based in Fort Worth, Texas. Altman received both her BFA, in 1981, and MA, in 1986, from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. In 1989 she earned her MFA from the University of North Texas, Denton in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesús Moroles</span> American sculptor (1950–2015)

Jesús Bautista Moroles was an American sculptor, known for his monumental abstract granite works. He lived and worked in Rockport, Texas, where his studio and workshop were based, and where all of his work was prepared and finished before being shipped out for installation. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Over two thousand works by Moroles are held in public and private collections in the United States, China, Egypt, France, Italy, Japan, and Switzerland.

<i>Riding into the Sunset</i> United States historic place

Riding into the Sunset is a bronze sculpture by Electra Waggoner Biggs, depicting Will Rogers on his horse, Soapsuds. There are four castings, located in Fort Worth, Texas, Claremore, Oklahoma, Lubbock, Texas, and Dallas, Texas.

Michael Frary was an American Modernist artist from Santa Monica, California, who was known for his interest in structural forms and architectural compositions, as well as for his Surrealist impulses. A versatile artist, Frary experimented with a range of mediums and constantly refined his approach to his subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Boynton</span> American painter

James W. Jack Boynton was an American artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Wray</span> American painter (1933–2011)

Richard Wray was an American abstract expressionist painter whose work had an influence on the art scene in Houston, Texas. After an art career spanning over 50 years, he died at age 77 of liver disease. His work continues to be showcased by art institutions and organizations across Houston, including the Deborah Colton Gallery, and is listed on the official website for the National Gallery of Art.

Howard Guy "Kemp" Lewis, also known as Guy Lewis, was an American college football player and coach and engineer. He played end at Sewanee: The University of the South in 1906 and 1907 and was selected to the 1907 College Football All-Southern Team. Kemp served as the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) for one season, in 1910, compiling a record of 2–6–1. He "pioneered in the forward pass and the change in the shape of the ball from round to oval."

Sedrick Ervin Huckaby (1975) is an American artist known for his use of thick, impasto paint to create murals that evoke traditional quilts and his production of large portraits that represent his personal history through images of family members and neighbors.

Tommy Fitzpatrick is an American artist. He is known for his work depicting urban architectural forms in his paintings. Fitzpatrick is also an associate professor at Texas State University in San Marcos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electra Carlin</span> American art dealer and gallery owner

Electra Carlin was an American art dealer and gallery owner in Fort Worth, Texas. She operated Fort Worth's longest-running private art gallery, which was also the first in the area founded and operated by women.

Harry Geffert was an American bronze sculptor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Williams, Charles Truett (1998). Charles T. Williams, retrospective with friends : Charles T. Williams, Roy Fridge, Jim Love, David McManaway, Gene Owens. Diana R. Block, University of North Texas. Art Gallery. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press. ISBN   1-57441-045-8. OCLC   37884803.
  2. ↑ Texas Historical Foundation; Edwards, Katie Robinson (2014). "Sculpting a Texas Rivalry". Texas Heritage. 2: 28–29.
  3. 1 2 The Sculpture of Charles Williams. Fort Worth, Texas: Fort Worth Art Center Exhibition Catalog. 1957.
  4. 1 2 "TSHA | Williams, Charles Truett". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  5. ↑ Edwards, Katie Robinson (2021-11-03). "8. Sculpture in and around the Studio of Charles Williams". Midcentury Modern Art in Texas. University of Texas Press. pp. 207–238. doi:10.7560/756595-009. ISBN   978-0-292-75664-9. S2CID   243789104.
  6. ↑ "Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth". Charles T. Williams. Archived from the original on 2021-12-10.
  7. ↑ "DMA Collection Online". Charles Williams - Thunder Form. Archived from the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  8. ↑ "OJAC Collection - Charles T. Williams". 12.201.107.98. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.