Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Jerry Bywaters Papers, 1936-1978, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.bywajerr
Creators:
Bywaters, Jerry
Dates:
1936-1978
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Linear foot
Repository:
The papers of Jerry Bywaters measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1978. The papers document Bywaters' career as a painter and art historian through a resume, interviews, and other professional activity material; artist files consisting of interviews, resumes, clippings, and photographs of works for various artists; and exhibition announcements, catalogs, and other printed material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Jerry Bywaters measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1978. The papers document Bywaters' career as a painter and art historian through a resume, interviews, and other professional activity material; artist files consisting of interviews, resumes, clippings, and photographs of works for various artists; and exhibition announcements, catalogs, and other printed material.
Professional activity files consists of a resume, an interview with art historian Marla Redelsperger, two interviews which are mostly an account of Bywaters' life, and photographs of Bywaters and his artwork.
Artist files consist of files on various artists Bywaters researched during his career. Materials include resumes, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, interviews, and photographs of the artists or some of their works. Also included are two interviews with architect John Staub and Nina Cullinan who was associated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Bywaters did not conduct these interviews.
Printed material consists of exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and the article, "Art Museums: Repositories, or Creative Centers?" written by Bywaters.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series.
  • Series 1: Professional Activity Files, circa 1953-1976 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Artist Files, 1936-1978 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 3: Printed Material, 1943-1978 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Jerry Bywaters (1906-1989) was an American artist, university professor, museum director, art critic and a historian of the Texas region. Based in Dallas, Bywaters worked to elevate the quality of Texas art, attracting national recognition to the art of the region. Bywaters was born in Paris, Texas in 1906, and he studied English at Southern Methodist University. In 1927 he began studying art while traveling through Europe, and he went on to study at Old Lyme Art Colony in Connecticut and at the Art Students League in New York City. Bywaters became known for producing landscapes, still lifes and portrait paintings, as well as lithographic prints and murals. In addition, Bywaters worked as an art and art history professor at Southern Methodist University, and he served as director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts from 1943 to 1964. Bywaters died in 1989.

Administration

Author
Ricky Gomez
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 1979 by Jerry Bywaters except for the correspondence on reel 1512, which he lent for microfilming. Microfilmed as part of the Archives of American Art's Texas project. Three photographs were inadvertently not microfilmed.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 1512-1513, 1648-1649 and 3752-3753 available for use at Archives of American Art offices; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Separated Materials
Correspondence, reel 1512: Originals returned to Jerry Bywaters after microfilming. Some letters were subsequently filed in the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts Registrarial painting files; others are in Southern Methodist University Archives.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2022.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Preferred Citation
Jerry Bywaters Papers, 1936-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum directors -- Texas -- Dallas Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Texas -- Dallas Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Latino and Latin American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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