 In the late 1920's a Texas oilman, Edgar B. Davis, put the san antonio art league museum in charge of administering a national competition for wildflowers in 1927, to be extended to include the categories of cotton picking and ranching in 1928 and 1929. These competitions were officially entitled:
Texas Wildflowers Competitive Exhibitions
Edgar B. Davis, a self made millionaire, a transplanted "yankee trader" and self-made oil man - a "wildcatter" - was among the wealthiest and most influential Texan during the 1920s
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The Texas Wildflowers Competitive Exhibitions (also called The Davis Competitions) proved to be among the most significant cultural events in Texas during those formative years of the twentieth century.
The prizes awarded were the richest offered by any art competition ever. The splendid reputation of the city, and the lavishly underwritten events surrounding the exhibitions (More than $53,000 in prize moneys were given in three years, and over $350,000 spent on events and traveling shows), were instrumental in forging the state's emerging art community and catapulting Texas art into the national limelight of the day. In her forward for the book 'Texas Art and a Wildcatter's Dream', Cecilia Steinfeldt called the competitions a "milestone in the saga of Texas art history"
Drawn by the incredible allure of record setting cash purchase prizes, generous publicity and national exhibitions, these competitions attracted such famous artists as Jose Arpa, Dawson Dawson-Watson, Oscar E. Berninghaus and Herbert Dunton (founding members of the Taos Society of Artists ) It is perhaps both significant and fitting that the first winner of the competition was Dawson Dawson-Watson who had lived in Giverny, France, and studied with Monet - one of the few artists active in Texas to have had that privilege.
Just as the stock market crash in October of 1929 both closed and opened eras in American life, the end of the Texas Wildflowers Competitive Exhibitions in 1929 marks a turning point in the artistic life of Texas. After that time young professional artists turned first to Regionalism and then to various Modernisms as expressive styles.
The san antonio art league acquired a significant collection of paintings as a result of The Texas Wildflowers Competitive Exhibitions. The san antonio art league museum is fortunate to have the Davis Collection. These works constitute the high-water mark of Impressionist expression in Texas and the United States. Although an important part of the Texas' cultural and artistic history, these art exhibitions remain virtually unknown today. Because of space constraints all of these works cannot be displayed in the san antonio art league's museum building.
The san antonio art league museum offers you a "virtual museum" so you can enjoy and discover more about these historical works in the saalm collection. Listed below are the Davis competitions' award winning works. Most are featured in William E. Reaves, Jr.'s book; 'Texas Art and a Wildcatter's Dream'.
Notes on each piece written by Richard Casagrande, Board of Directors, san antonio art league for the book 'Texas Art and a Wildcatter's Dream' accompany these selections. Click here for more information about the book and how to purchase your own copy of 'Texas Art and a Wildcatter's Dream"..
Viewing Instructions: Click on artist's name to open a new browser window on top of this one. When you are finished viewing the artist's works, Click "next"on the navigation bar at the bottom of the page to view another artist's work.
davis wildflower competitive exhibition award winners
1927 19281929
alphabetical listing
award winners - 1927
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award winners - 1928
(competition was extended to include the categories of cotton picking and ranching in 1928 and 1929.)
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award winners - 1929
(competition was extended to include the categories of cotton picking and ranching in 1928 and 1929.)
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Revised: January, 2010
