Renne Hughes (August 18, 1941 – October 30, 1991) born in

Lamesa, Texas Lamesa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,674 at the 2020 census, down from 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado, Lamesa was founded in 1903. Mo ...

was an American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

who became known for his depictions of the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. Renne won awards and achievements across the U.S. and abroad and in 1978 he was officially awarded the ''Texas State Artist'' title. By the mid 1980s his fan base and body of work caught the attention of

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva Gabor, Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Mis ...

and President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, who famously acquired his artwork on an issue of the

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carter acc ...

Early life

Renne was born to Jack B. Hughes and Mabel Dean Sasser in 1941. His father was a record holder athlete at the

University of Texas in 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 ...

and was a discus contender in the

1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo City, Empire of Japan. They were rescheduled for Helsinki, Finland, to be held from ...

before they were cancelled due to

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 ...

. He spent his childhood in the Texas country and began to create drawings, sketches and began working with oil paints. The family later moved to

Lake Worth, Texas Lake Worth is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,584 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to, and named after, Lake Worth, a popular recreational lake in the northwestern portion of Tarrant County. Geography ...

where he eventually attended Arlington Heights high school and was a champion body builder at LCRA. He later attended

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 ...

for an engineering degree where he met his wife, Laura Shesa.

Career

His first work sold was at Forest Park, Texas art show and was a 24x36 autumn scene for $25.00. He began selling sets of paintings called "four seasons' and began going to art fairs from

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

Goshen (town), New York Goshen is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 13,687 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the Biblical Land of Goshen. It contains a village also called Goshen, which is the county seat of Orange County ...

to anywhere in the south. His passion for the old west and talent for painting it soon took over. His passion for the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

and Texan Heritage led him to photography sessions at th
Y.O. Ranch cattle drives
old abandoned ranches and homes in the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...

and historical re-enactments. Soon after that his interest spread to native American cultures where he would spend a lot of time photographing and talking to

Native American Indians Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...

at their reservations. He soon began to grace magazine covers such a
The Cattleman
and local newspapers with his stories and artwork. Renne also donated numbers of original works to charitable donations including the Annual Cowboys Charity at

Texas Stadium Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof (Cowboy ...

and he painted the Leukemia Poster Child among others. Renne became famous for his many depictions of life in the American West and lived on the edge of a quickly evolving society. His mission and passion was to capture images and recreate the era of the western United States where the inroads of civilization had ended the frontier lifestyle. His craving for history then led him to attend and re-enactment many

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

battles, the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...

, th
Texas Sesquicentennial
and live the

old west The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

. He was best in show twice at

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistica ...

and many times at

Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (formally the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show) is the oldest continuously running livestock show and rodeo. It has been held annually in Fort Worth, Texas since 1896, traditionally in mid-January thro ...

(Fort Worth Stock Show) among other awards.

Last work

His last work was finished the day before he died and was of the famous battle of Texas, The

. The work, "Texas: The Moment of Birth" (1991), was printed in limited edition by his close friend, Dr. William C. Anderson. He painted himself wounded in the bottom right corner.Renne Hughes

Gallery

www.rennehughes.org

Notes

www.rennehughes.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Renne 20th-century American photographers 20th-century American painters American male painters Artists from Texas 1941 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American male artists