The Artistic Legacy of Buck Schiwetz

Lecture | Thursday, June 6, 2024 | 6 pm
Guest Speakers: Drs. Linda and Bill Reaves, Curators, Authors, Collectors

Artist Edward “Buck” Muegge Schiwetz was born in Cuero, Texas in 1898. He graduated high school in 1916 and following his father’s wishes, began studying engineering at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). Due to his artistic interests inherited from his mother, Schiwetz switched his degree to architecture and graduated in 1921. Subsequently, he moved to Dallas to work as a drafter, doing advertising sketches on the side. After marrying a fellow artist, the Schiwetz’s moved to New York and he enrolled in the Art Student’s League, studying etching and lithography. Upon their return to Texas, Schiwetz became a partner at an advertising firm and continued to produce artwork, winning many awards for his sketches and paintings of buildings, landscapes, and oilfields. Many of his drawings helped spur preservation efforts of old buildings throughout Texas. By the 1930s, Schiwetz’s work could be seen at various museums and galleries in the United States including at the Library of Congress and the Art Institute of Chicago. He retired from his advertising job in 1966 to concentrate on his artwork. Schiwetz was the Texas State Artist in 1977 and received an artist-in-residence at Texas A&M in 1976. His artwork can be found in museum collections such as the Dallas Museum of Art, the Harry Ransom Center, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Modern Museum of Art of Fort Worth. This retrospective exhibition of artwork by E.M. “Buck” Schiwetz was organized by Drs. Linda and Bill Reaves and Texas A&M University Press and includes drawings, prints, watercolors, and oil paintings. 

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