The Reductive Landscape: Paintings & Drawings by Jack Boynton and McKie Trotter

The Reductive Landscape:

Paintings & Drawings by Jack Boynton and McKie Trotter February 6-28, 2015

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE: PAINTINGS & DRAWINGS BY JACK BOYNTON AND M C KIE TROTTER SPRING 2015 EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

BY WILLIAM REAVES FINE ART

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

The Reductive Landscape: Paintings & Drawings by McKie Trotter and Jack Boynton Beginning in the early 1950s, McKie Trotter (1918-1999) and Jack Boynton (1928-2010) forged a professional relationship at TCU, first as teacher and student and subsequently as professional colleagues, which literally changed the dynamics of landscape painting in the state. Informed and inspired by the inventive output of the other, they introduced and perfected a reductive form of landscape painting. By reducing Texas light, land and atmosphere to its simplest terms in paint, they produced mystical, highly-charged renditions which lent an expressionist vision to the Lone Star landscape for the first time.

Their efforts received the highest acclaim of their time, enabling both artists to achieve formidable exhibition records among their peers. Their mid-century Texas work embraced the walls of such premier institutions as The Guggenheim, MoMA, The Whitney and the National Academy of Design. This exhibition reconsiders their ground-breaking landscapes of the 50s and 60s, which Trotter continued from his faculty base at TCU, and Boynton perfected in his at Houston and eventually at St. Thomas University.

Bill Reaves William Reaves Fine Art

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

The Reductive Landscape | Exhibition Checklist

JACK BOYNTON

Image Title

Date

Medium

Dimensions

1

Drawing Five

1959

pencil on paper

10x7 inches

2

Same Old 7 and 6

1959

graphite

5.5x12 inches

3

Untitled (4)

1959

pencil on paper

9.5x14.5 inches

4

Untitled (5)

1964

pencil on paper

10x10 inches

5

Untitled Drawing 1

1959

graphite

7.75x6.5 inches

6

Untitled Drawing 2

1959

graphite

8.75x6 inches

7

Untitled Drawing 9

1957

mixed media

11x6 inches

8

Blind Beast

1959

oil on canvas

70x80 inches

9

Dissection

1960

oil on canvas

80.25x69.75 inches

10

Reflections

1959

oil on canvas

39.5x32 inches

11

Tehatchapie Pass

1968

acrylic on canvas

64x64 inches

12

Untitled (Purple Landscape)

c. 1968

acrylic on canvas

64x64 inches

13

Untitled

1959

oil on canvas

30x26 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

The Reductive Landscape | Exhibition Checklist

M C KIE TROT TER

Image Title

Date

Medium

Dimensions

14

Big Sky

1955

drawing on paper

17x27 inches

15

Cactus Garden

c.1956

graphite

14x18 inches

16

Four Bushes

c. 1959

collage

4x16 inches

17

Arcadian V

1963

casein on board

32x49 inches

18

Earthscape

1963

casein on board

32x48 inches

19

Earthscape #14

c. 1959

oil on canvas

38x30 inches

20

Earthscape with Sea

1963-64

oil on canvas

46x50 inches

21

Earthscape with Sea and Fields

1963-64

mixed media on masonite

32x48 inches

22

Landscape Southwest

1957

vinyl emulsion

10x12 inches

23

Sea III

1959

oil on canvas

40x63 inches

24

Spring S'West #2

1958

oil on masonite

12x41 inches

25

Untitled (blue horizons)

1955

casein on masonite

25.5x48 inches

26

Untitled (green horizon)

c.1959

hyplar on board

4x8.5 inches

27

Untitled (red, white, green, yellow)

c.1959

oil on board

5.62x20 inches

28

Southwestern Landscape

1955

graphite on paper

5.5x22 inches

29

Untitled Landscape

1952

oil on masonite

26x16 inches

30

Winterscape, 11/12

no date

silkscreen

20x15.5 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

JACK BOYNTON THE ARTIST & HIS WORK

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

JACK BOYNTON (1928-2010)

Boynton was a key figure in the post-World War II Houston arts scene.

According to a Houston Chronicle article written by Douglas Britt, Boynton garnered national attention in the 1950’s and 1960’s for his modernist, largely abstract paintings. His work is owned by the MFAH, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney and Guggenheim Museums, Dallas Museum of Art, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Amon Carter Museum and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.

Selected Exhibitions • 1954, Younger American Painters, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York • 1957, Young America, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York • 1957-58, 1 of 17 artists representing USA at the Brussels World’s Fair • 1959, Dallas Museum of Contemporary Art • 1962, Recent Painting: The Figure, Museum of Modern Art, New York • 1976-86, Betty Moody Gallery, Houston • 1980, Retrospectrum, Amarillo Art Center, circulating to Tyler Museum of Art, Art Center of Waco, Abilene Fine Arts Museum, and Beaumont Art Museum • 1985, Fresh Paint: The Houston School, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston • 2007, Texas Modern, Martin Museum of Art, Baylor University

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights • 1928, Born in Fort Worth, Texas • 1949, BFA, Texas Christian University • 1955, MFA, Texas Christian University • 1955-57, Instructor, University of Houston • 1960-62, Instructor, San Francisco Art Institute • 1967-69, Artist Fellowship, Tamarind Lithograph Workshop, Los Angeles • 1969-85, Professor, University of St. Thomas, Houston • 2010, Dies in Houston, Texas

Selected Public Collections • Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas • Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, Texas • Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas • Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas • The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas • Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York • Museum of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana • Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York • Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut

Jack Boynton was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1928. He earned his bachelor and master degrees from Texas Christian University and began exhibiting his paintings in 1950. He has been included in numerous group exhibitions, nationally and internationally and became recognized for his contemporary paintings and prints. Boynton was instrumental in creating the studio arts program at the University of St. Thomas; he joined the faculty in 1969 and served as professor until 1985. He was well respected by his colleagues, one of whom mentioned that he could look at a piece of paper and see a dozen possibilities.

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

2. Same Old 7 and 6, 1959 Graphite on paper 5.5x12 inches

1. Drawing Five, 1959 Pencil on paper 10x7 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

3. Untitled (4), 1959

4. Untitled (5), 1964

Pencil on paper 9.5x14.5 inches

Pencil on paper 10x10 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

5. Untitled Drawing 1, 1959 Graphite on paper 7.75x6.5 inches

7. Untitled Drawing 9, 1957 6. Untitled Drawing 2, 1959 Graphite on paper 8.75x6 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

Mixed media on paper 11x6 inches

8. Blind Beast, 1959 Oil on canvas 70x80 inches

9. Dissection, 1960 Oil on canvas 80.25x69.75 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

10. Reflections, 1959 Oil on canvas 39.5x32 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

11. Tehatchapie Pass, 1968 Acrylic on canvas 64x64 inches

12. Untitled (Purple Landscape), c. 1968 Acrylic on canvas 64x64 inches

13. Untitled, 1959 Oil on canvas 30x26 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

M C KIE TROTTER THE ARTIST & HIS WORK

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

M C KIE TROTTER (1918-1999) McKie Trotter was born in 1918 in Manchester, Georgia. He pursued his growing interest in art, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia. Drafted into the war, Trotter served as infantry captain in 1943 and found himself as a prisoner of war until 1945. After the war, he returned to Georgia and earned his Master’s at the University of Georgia, Athens. Later, a teaching position in Fort Worth prompted him to relocate to Texas.

Trotter eventually settled in Austin, affiliating himself with Dickson Reeder and the group of modernist printmakers, who had come to be known as the Fort Worth Circle. He also took on an active role at the Reeder School, designing sets and creating costumes. Trotter continued to exhibit and his work was included in the 1957 Dallas Museum of Fine Arts exhibition A Survey of Texas Painting, mounted under the direction of Jerry Bywaters, and in the 1971 exhibition Texas Painting 6 Sculpture: 20th Century which traveled to Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and Lubbock. He exhibited widely, and his work is found in numerous private collections.

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights • 1918, Born in Manchester, Georgia • 1940, BA, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia • 1943-45, Infantry Captain and P.O.W. • 1950, MFA, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia • 1948-53, Instructor and Professor, Texas Wesleyan College, Fort Worth, Texas • 1953-88, Professor of Art, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas • 1999, Dies at Fort Worth residence

Selected Exhibitions • 1946-47, Pepsi-Cola Company’s Third Annual Exhibition: Paintings of the Year, New York, National Academy of Design • 1949-55, Fort Worth Art Association Local Artists’ Exhibition, Fort Worth, Texas • 1950-58, Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas • 1951-53, Texas Fine Arts Association General Exhibition, Austin, Texas • 1954, Young American Paintings, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York • 1960, Southwestern Art: A Sampling of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas • 1961-67, Annual Exhibition of Artists of Fort Worth, Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas Selected Public Collections • Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas • Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas • Murray State College, Tishomingo, Oklahoma • Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth • Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas • Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

14. Big Sky, 1955 Drawing on paper 17x27 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

15. Cactus Garden, c. 1956 Graphite on paper 14x17 inches

16. Four Bushes, 1959 Pencil on paper 9.5x14.5 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

17. Arcadian V, 1963 Casein on board 32x49 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

18. Earthscape, 1963 Casein on board 32x48 inches

19. Earthscape #14, c. 1959 Oil on canvas 38x30 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

20. Earthscape with Sea, 1963 Oil on canvas 46x50 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

21. Earthscape with Sea and Fields, 1963-64 Mixed media on masonite 32x48 inches

22. Landscape Southwest, 1957 Vinyl emulsion 10x12 inches

23. Untitled, 1959 Oil on canvas 40x63 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

24. Spring S’West #2, 1958 Oil on masonite 12x41 inches

25. Untitled (blue horizons), 1955 Casein on masonite 25.5x48 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

26. Untitled (green horizon), c. 1959 Hyplar on board 4x8.5 inches

27. Untitled (red, white, green, yellow), c. 1959 Oil on board 5.62x20 inches

28. Southwestern Landscape, 1955 Graphite on paper 5.5x22 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

29. Untitled Landscape, 1955 Oil on masonite 26x16 inches

THE REDUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

30. Winterscape, no date Silkscreen 20x15.5 inches

WILLIAM REAVES FINE ART 2143 WESTHEIMER ROAD • HOUSTON, TEXAS • 77098 TEL: 713.521.7500 • EMAIL: INFO@REAVESART.COM WWW.REAVESART.COM CATALOGUE DESIGNED BY ELIZABETH O’DOWD.