Charles Truett Williams was considered one of the first significant
modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
sculptors in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Active in the mid-twentieth century, the
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
-based artist became known for his inventive, abstracted sculptures, steering away from traditional, life-like renderings then popular in Texas. His mastery spanned across a multitude of media including wood, stone, sheet copper, cast bronze, steel, iron, and found objects.
Early life and education
Williams was born to T. L. and Lucy (Hurst) Williams, on March 24, 1918, in Weatherford, Texas. After high school, he worked at a drugstore at the Baker Hotel in
Mineral Wells
Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto and Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,788 at the 2010 census (14,644 in Palo Pinto and 2144 in Parker). The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly pop ...
, and saved up for college. He attended
Abilene Christian College
Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Southwestern United States and has one of th ...
and
Hardin Simmons University
Hardin may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hardin, Illinois, in Calhoun County
* Hardin County, Illinois
* Hardin, Iowa, in Clayton County
* Hardin County, Iowa
* Hardin, Kentucky, in Marshall County
* Hardin County, Kentucky
* Hardin, Mis ...
, following which he worked as an engineer.
After settling in Fort Worth in 1947, he attended evening classes at TCU while continuing to work for the Army Corps of Engineers. He received both his BFA and MFA in sculpture from TCU.
Career
Williams was deployed to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
; his time there exposed him to various modernist movements and artists. He settled in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, upon his return from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, with his wife, Louise, and son, Karl, where he worked under the Army Corps of Engineers as a draftsman. After his wife's death in 1947, Williams moved to Fort Worth with his son to live with his parents, continuing his career with the Army Corps of Engineers in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. He pursued his love for sculpture in his spare time, using his garage as his studio, and enrolled at TCU for formal training. He later established a professional studio c.1952 which became a hub for his artistic contemporaries, including members of the
Fort Worth Circle The Fort Worth Circle was a progressive art colony in Fort Worth, Texas. The colony was active during the 1940s and much of the 1950s and formed around younger artists, most of them native Texans under-30, who embraced themes not traditionally seen ...
. Throughout his time in Fort Worth, he was encouraging of many young artists including Jim Love, David McManaway, and Roy Fridge.
He had two solo shows at the Fort Worth Art Center (now the
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) is an art museum of post-World War II art in Fort Worth, Texas with a collection of international modern and contemporary art. Founded in 1892, The Modern is located in the c ...
) - one in 1952, his first ever solo exhibition, and the other in 1957, which included close to 50 of his works. Other solo shows include:
* New Arts Gallery, Houston, 1958, 1960
* Nye Gallery, Dallas, 1960
* Fifth Avenue Gallery, Fort Worth, 1961
*
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.
*
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
, Norman, 1963
*
Valley House Gallery
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
, Dallas, 1964, 1966
*
Oklahoma Art Center
, mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State"
, type = Public research university
, established =
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.7billion (2021)
, pr ...
, Oklahoma City, 1965
* Fort Worth Gallery, 1983
Some of the group shows in which he participated include exhibitions at the Dallas Museum of Contemporary Arts (now Dallas Museum of Art),
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
,
Witte Museum
The Witte Museum was established in 1926 and is located in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, Texas. It is dedicated to telling the stories of Texas, from prehistory to the present. The permanent collection features historic artifacts and photograp ...
,
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
,
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...
,
Amarillo Museum of Art
The Amarillo Museum of Art is located at 2200 S. Van Buren Street on the grounds of Amarillo College in the city of Amarillo, in the county of Potter, in the U.S. state of Texas.
Museum
Designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, the Amarillo Muse ...
, and Valley House Gallery.
After a heart attack in 1955, he decided to retire from the Army Corps of Engineers, and pursue sculpture full-time, despite experiencing pain from a previous heart attack.
Work
Williams employed his engineering skills to visualize 2D renderings in 3D form, demonstrating masterful dexterity across his work, especially when creating symmetry and repeating elements in pieces like ''Lead Head'' (1964) and ''Fun with Freud'' (1964).
Many of his significant works were considered organic abstractions, primarily influenced by European artists encountered during his time in Paris, including
Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Braque
Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...
and
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...
, Williams recognized the importance of incorporating negative space within sculptural compositions.
His lifelong fascination with calligraphy is believed to have manifested in marks and scores drawn on metal surfaces in pieces like ''Solar Disc'' (1964), and in his 9.5-ft high installation, ''Weiner Fountain'' (1954), he abstracted elements of Chinese calligraphic symbols to create plantlike structures using bronze rods and sheet metal. Captivated by
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n culture, Williams traveled to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, to study their art; his piece, ''Earth Mother'' (1958), drew inspiration from Chacmool's reclining pose, upright head, and raised knees.
Williams also fashioned humorous assemblages in playful reference to his artistic peers; ''The Exhibitionist'' (1962) - a portrait of Jim Love - and ''Moritz the Elephant'' (1965) are two such examples of his sculptural translation of conversations with friends. He enjoyed crafting “found art” made from carburetors, jacks, flotsam, driftwood and more, often gifting smaller works to friends. His installation, ''Totems Suburbium'' (1962), used the undersides of five sink basins, each mounted on timber poles to create a line of watchful sentinel-like figures.
Williams received many requests for public and commercial commissions. The Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth commissioned three pieces, ''Odalisque'' (1954), ''Fountain Sculpture'' (1955), and ''Golfer'' (1955). His pieces created for long-time patron, Ted Weiner, were tributes to his inspirations - ''Calder is the Only One'' (1955) and ''Earth Mother'' (1958), which honors similar work by Moore. Other commissions include sculptural work for the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Houston, St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth, and
Texas Turnpike Authority
The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) is an organization that maintains and operates toll roads, bridges, and tunnels in the North Texas area. Functioning as a political subdivision of the State of Texas under Chapter 366 of the Transpor ...
in Arlington. He collaborated with
Octavio Medellin Octavio is a Spanish language masculine given name. In the Portuguese language the given name Octavio or Octávio is also found, but in Portuguese the normal spelling is Otávio. It is also used as a surname in the Philippines.
Individuals
* Octav ...
on a mural commission at the Temple Emanu-El in Dallas.
Though he rarely referenced his time at war in his work, ''Helmet (Pathos)'' (1962) is an exception, in which he crafted a soldier's helmet, with crude edges, that sits atop a steel stand on its crown to accentuate its emptiness, representing the dark realities of war.
In his later works, Williams began experimenting with color by using automobile paints and coating processes in pieces like ''Veritable Apparition'' (1965), ''Components'' (1965), and ''Small Blue Torus'' (1966).
Collections
Williams' work can be found in the collections of the
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) is an art museum of post-World War II art in Fort Worth, Texas with a collection of international modern and contemporary art. Founded in 1892, The Modern is located in the c ...
Old Jail Art Center
The Old Jail Art Center (OJAC) is an art museum, art and local history museum, regional history museum in Albany, Texas. It is housed in a former jail that was completed in 1878. After being replaced by a new jail in 1929, the old jail building w ...
.
Personal life
Williams and his first wife, Louise, had one son, Karl Williams. Upon his return to the United States after the war, they lived in Atlanta, Georgia, until Louise's death in 1947, which was caused by viral pneumonia. Williams moved with his son to Fort Worth shortly after, where he remained until his death in 1966. In 1952, he married Anita Stuart, his son's third grade teacher, with whom he traveled to various countries to study art and culture. He died of heart failure at the age of 48.