The Austin Art League, Group 1, has been in existence for 100 years. This venerable organization was founded at a time when there were few formal art museums in Texas and works by Texas artists were seldom seen or heralded locally. The ceaseless determination of this group to expose the citizens of Austin and the state at large to Texas art is to be commended.

During the 10 decades that the Austin Art League, Group 1, has been in existence, much has changed. The art of Texas has continued to evolve, as has the State. One enduring constant throughout this history, however, has been the unique character of this rugged land. The vast geography, the varied and changing topography and endless Texas horizon has for generations exerted a powerful and inescapable influence over a diverse and determined group of artists. Working in both rural outposts and urban concentrations, these individuals have forged Texas enduring artistic tradition.

Beginning as early as the 1830s, artists immigrating to Texas were among the first to attempt to capture the pristine, unspoiled splendor of this new land. These individuals had been trained in the classical European manner. Their early depictions, somewhat rigidly "framed" in a solid academic tradition, romanticized the natural beauty and vastness of the state. The trend for artists to paint their surroundings was nothing new, but the enormous horizon and varied geography provided unending inspiration.

The Texas encountered by these early pioneering artists was, at the close of the 19th century, beginning to change. This gradual transformation came as the primarily agrarian-based society began to leave the farm and its rural environs bound for the developing cities. The encroaching industrialization and other outward trappings of "progress" fostered by this upheaval brought about sweeping changes across the state's open vistas. All the while, even as this encroachment became more pronounced in Texas, the beauty of the natural landscape, as well that of the newly built environments, was faithfully being documented by its artists. Additionally, Texas artists were forging out into the wider world, experiencing that which destinations far from home had to offer. Dutifully, they recorded these experiences as well.

When assembled as a group, the varied works in the collection of the Austin Art League, Group 1. form a series of "snap shots" from another time, forever preserving a moment now long past. These works are personal and immediate in their vision and possess an ability to speak to the viewing audience on an intimately personal level. It is this personal nature that makes them approachable and contributes greatly to the memory of the times in which these artists lived.

Art happened everywhere in Texas and, regardless of academic training or the lack thereof. Texas artists painted unapologetically and made art where they were. Texas artists produced work in every region of the state, each reflecting the individuality of the vicinity in which it was created.

The resulting diversity of their work helps stimulate and inspire the viewer to dig deeper and open a dialog while developing a better understanding of art in Texas. Visually, they continue to compel and engage, while conveying a specific sense of place and time. My congratulations to AAL. Group 1.

By Carl R. McQueary, Independent Curator, Austin, Texas