MIDLAND Tom Lea was one of the most well-known artists in the southwest region and people in the Permian Basin now have an opportunity to see some of his works at Museum of the Southwest.
The El Pasoan specialized in more than one form of art. In addition to being a painter, he was also a muralist, an author, illustrator and war correspondent.
His artistic style was as varied as his occupation as he remains one of the most recognized artisst and aesthetic innovators in Texas.
Lea’s works are currently on display at the Museum of the Southwest in an exhibition called Unbridled: The Art of Tom Lea.
“Tom Lea is an iconic West Texas artist,” Museum of the Southwest Curator Matthew Ward said. “Born in El Paso, this exhibition covers a little bit of everything from his career. He was very prolific. He was a studio painter, he was an illustrator and a muralist. He was also an artist. He illustrated books that he wrote and we have those books here for people to look at.”
Lea was born in El Paso in 1907 where he also died in 2001 at the age of 93.
His father, Thomas Calloway Lea Jr. was mayor of El Paso from 1915-17 where he made a public declaration that he would arrest Pancho Villa if he dared enter El Paso after Villa raided Columbus, N.M. in 1916.
Villa responded by offering a thousand pesos gold bounty on the mayor. For six months, the younger Lea and his brother Joe had to have a police escort to and from school and there was a 24-hour guard on the house.
During the Great Depression, Lea found work from New Deal art projects.
He painted numerous murals that were in post offices including one at the original post office in Odessa with his painting titled “Stampede”.
“It remained in the original Odessa post office until the 1970s,” Ward said. “When the post office switched locations the mural was moved along with it. By the 90s, it was in rough shape. There were stains on it. Somebody had taken a knife to it and slashed it but in the 2000s.”
However, the painting would get a new lease on life when the Odessa Arts Council and the Ellen Noel Art Museum put together a restoration project for the painting.
The painting was then moved to the Ellen Noel. However, it has since temporarily been moved to the Museum of the Southwest while the Ellen Noel undergoes renovation.
“I’m really excited that the stampede is here. It’ll be here with us while the Ellen Noel is undergoing renovation,” Ward said. “It’ll be here for the next three years, even after the exhibition. This is a signature, Odessa, Midland work of art and I’m happy that it can remain on display here.”
In 1941, Lea became a war correspondent for LIFE Magazine, a position he would hold until the end of World War II.
Traveling all over the world with the United States military, Lea would paint some of his powerful images based on what he saw from the war on the front lines.
Some of his works from the war, including “The Price” and the “Two Thousand Yard Stare” are also included in the exhibition.
“Some of the paintings of “The Price” are things he witnessed firsthand,” Ward said. “What I find amazing is yes, he’s capturing the bravery and solidarity of war but he’s also capturing the trauma of war. The two thousand yard stare is a sign of PTSD, decades before it was even identified as a condition. He’s indentifying the condition of a shell-shocked soldier which I think is amazing.”
The exhibit is on display until Jan. 8.
“We wanted to do something about Tom Lea because he has so much importance,” Ward said. “He’s an old master of the southwest. To put it together was the relationship between the museum of the southwest and the El Paso Museum of Art. They loaned us so many of these great works. The tom lea institute also helped. The mural is such a highlight of the exhibition. Being able to install it and bring it from Odessa to Midland is a huge thanks to the Ellen Noel Art Museum. Massive thanks to them for helping us.”
For more information on the exhibit, go to tinyurl.com/yp83mu9r.
