Williamson Gerald Bywaters, known as Jerry Bywaters, was an American artist, university professor, museum director, art critic and a historian of the Texas region.
22 Facts About Jerry Bywaters
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Jerry Bywaters attended the Terrill Preparatory School for Boys in Dallas, which he credits with helping "me develop as a writer and later critic".
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Jerry Bywaters's illustrations appeared in the school paper and annual.
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Jerry Bywaters enrolled in Southern Methodist University, where he earned a BA in English and Journalism, and another in General Literature.
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Jerry Bywaters's ability was recognized by noted American painters Bruce Crane and William S Robinson.
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Jerry Bywaters sought to overcome his father's concerns over his career choice, writing to him that in the long run, he would earn less as a commercial artist than as a creative one.
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Jerry Bywaters produced landscapes, still lifes and portrait paintings, as well as lithographic prints and murals.
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In 1935 Jerry Bywaters began making prints, using lithography as a way to make art affordable.
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Jerry Bywaters hoped to sell more works to middle class people and to popularize Texas regional art.
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Jerry Bywaters pioneered the style later termed "Lone Star Regionalism" and he was recognized as "one of the finest of the regional print makers".
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An early Jerry Bywaters lithograph was Gargantua, which won a prize in the 1935 Allied Arts Exhibition.
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Jerry Bywaters was a founding member of Lone Star Printmakers, a group of male Texas artists who created original prints.
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Jerry Bywaters won mural competitions, set up to commission public art for newly constructed or renovated federal and city buildings.
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In collaborations with other Dallas artists, Jerry Bywaters completed six projects in Texas, including a series of panels in collaboration with Alexandre Hogue at the Old City Hall in Dallas; a series of panels at the Paris Public Library; and one mural each in the post offices of Trinity, Quanah, and Farmersville.
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Jerry Bywaters served for forty years as a faculty member of Southern Methodist University's Division of Fine Arts.
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Jerry Bywaters ran both the Art and Art History departments.
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Jerry Bywaters was art director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts for more than two decades, from 1943 to 1964.
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Unlike many of his contemporary art directors, Jerry Bywaters sought to bring people into the museum, foreseeing that increasing attendance was the key to survival and growth.
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Jerry Bywaters was the art critic for The Dallas Morning News from 1933 to 1939, during which time he wrote hundreds of articles on the art and artists of Texas.
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Jerry Bywaters was seen as fair, pointing out merits, and allowing shortcomings to be revealed by comparison.
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In 1981, Jerry Bywaters gave his numerous papers on the art and artists of the region to Southern Methodist University, founding the Jerry Bywaters Special Collections.
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Jerry Bywaters lived in Dallas with his wife Mary McLarry Jerry Bywaters until his death on March 7,1989.