Electra Carlin (September 28, 1912 – February 19, 2000) was an American art dealer and gallery owner in

Fort Worth, Texas 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 ...

. She operated Fort Worth's longest-running private art gallery, which was also the first in the area founded and operated by women.

Early life

Electra Anne Marshall was born September 28, 1912 to Bert Marshall (ca. 1869-1924) and Frances E. "Fannie" Peers Marshall (1872-1955). Bert was a railroad conductor and, later, car service superintendent, from Illinois or Missouri; Fannie was a homemaker from

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 ...

.Ancestry.com. ''Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Born and raised in Fort Worth, she attended art exhibitions at Fort Worth Public Library as a child, but never studied art. She majored in journalism in college, attending the

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 ...

Beaver College Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark. History B ...

in Pennsylvania, and

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. There she met her husband, Howard Lee "H. Lee" Carlin, a native of

Racine, Missouri Racine is an unincorporated community in Newton County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Racine has been in operation since 1869. The town was originally cal ...

who served in the Navy Reserve during

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 ...

. The Carlins lived in

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and

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

while H. Lee worked at the

Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Rese ...

and the

National Production Authority The National Production Authority (NPA) was an agency of the United States government which developed and promoted the production and supply of materials and facilities necessary for defense mobilization. It was part of the Department of Commerce. ...

of the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

. In 1952, the couple relocated to Dallas, where H. Lee was killed in an accident only three weeks after their move, at the age of 41, and interred at Greenwood Cemetery.

Career

After her husband's death, Electra returned to Fort Worth to live near her mother. She volunteered at The Reeder School, a noted children's theater school run by Fort Worth Circle artists Dickson and Flora Reeder, until its closure in 1958. She kept books for the nearby Gallery of Wonderful Things, on Byers Avenue in Fort Worth's west side, until 1959, when owner Terese Law Hershey moved to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and left Carlin the gallery. Carlin continued exhibiting art at the gallery as well as Ridglea Country Club, showing works by Fort Worth Circle-affiliated artists like Bill Bomar, Cynthia Brants, Blanche McVeigh, Edward Dickson Reeder, and

Bror Alexander Utter Bror Alexander Utter (August 26, 1913 – May 6, 1993) was a painter, printmaker, and art teacher who lived and worked his entire life in Fort Worth, Texas, but his art achieved national recognition. He worked in an array of styles ranging from ...

. She renovated an old laundromat on 7th Street and moved the gallery there in 1959. In January 1960, she mounted the first exhibition of

Inuit art Inuit art, also known as Eskimo art, refers to artwork produced by Inuit, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive. Historically, their preferred medium was walrus ivory, but s ...

in Texas; the Gallery of Wonderful Things was renamed "Carlin Gallery" three months later. Carlin emerged as a regional tastemaker, selling Inuit art to the

Amon Carter Museum Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American pu ...

, the

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 ...

, and the

McNay Art Museum The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-roo ...

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. She continued selling the work of local and Inuit artists, and spoke at an Inuit art conference at the Smithsonian in 1962. In 1963, she was appointed to the City of Fort Worth Art Commission along with

Ruth Carter Stevenson Ruth Carter Stevenson (October 19, 1923 – January 6, 2013) was an American patron of the arts and founder of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, which opened in Fort Worth, Texas, in January 1961. Stevenson was born to Amon G. Carter and Nene ...

. Carlin represented nationally known artists like

Peter Hurd Peter Hurd (February 22, 1904 – July 9, 1984) was an American painter whose work is strongly associated with the people and landscapes of San Patricio, New Mexico, where he lived from the 1930s. He is equally acclaimed for his portraits and hi ...

and Henriette Wyeth Hurd, the daughter of

N. C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

, and showed ceramics and work by Texas artists. In 1964, she expanded the Carlin Gallery space to include an outdoor sculpture garden designed by architects Albert S. Komatsu and Emery Young, Jr., and landscape architect Elbert Spence. Throughout the 1960s, Carlin lectured women's clubs on how to purchase and decorate the home with fine paintings and partnered with the

Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

on exhibitions in other Texas cities. In 1970. the Carlin Gallery mounted a memorial , retrospective exhibition for prolific Fort Worth printmaker Blanche McVeigh that included "virtually all" of her prints. Carlin organized an art exhibition at Fort Worth's first Mayfest celebration, organized by the Junior League in 1973. She was also a donor to Streams and Valleys' Trinity River beautification project in the 1970s. In 1990, Carlin announced the closing of the gallery. Over the course of 31 years, Carlin Gallery held over 150 exhibitions with work by 130 artists and steered the development of numerous museum collections in Texas.

Death and legacy

Electra Carlin died in Fort Worth on February 19, 2000 and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery. She is remembered as an "exact, aware businesswoman" and the "dean of Fort Worth art dealers." A bequest from her estate established the Electra Carlin Endowment to fund exhibitions of Texas artists at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

References

External links

Carlin Art Gallery Records at Fort Worth Library Archives

Carlin Galleries Records at the Archives of American Art

Terese Tarlton Hershey Papers at the Archives of American Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlin, Electra 1912 births 2000 deaths Women art dealers American art dealers Washington University in St. Louis alumni People from Fort Worth, Texas University of Oklahoma alumni