Jerry Bywaters: A Life in Art

Dr. Francine Carraro's biography of Dallas artist Jerry Bywaters provides a solid introduction to the art scene of the city throughout much of the 20th century. Bywaters, who was a Regionalist, had many professional contacts with Allie Tennant. In fact, the two of them shared much of their artistic careers in the city. Bywaters and Tennant both attended classes at the Art Students League in the later 1920s, returned to Dallas where they both became very active in the Regionalist art movement, and worked together in building the Dallas Museum of Fine arts. Bywaters served as the Director of the Museum during most of the time that Allie Tennant was a member of the institution's board of trustees. In particular, they cooperated during the mid-1950s when anti-communist fervor attempted to remove various works of art from the Museum's collection. This book by Cararro highlights many important developments in the arts community of Dallas and fully assessed the significant role Jerry Bywaters played in them.


By Francine Carraro