When Texas painter George Hallmark began showing his paintings professionally, one of the first venues for his artwork was the Haley Memorial Library and J. Evetts Haley History Center in Midland, Texas. As his career has soared and he’s become one of the iconic fixtures within Western art, Hallmark has retained a special place in his heart for the center and its role in the early part of his career.
Sharing a Drink, oil, 24 x 30”
Decades after his first showing at the center, Hallmark has returned to the Haley with a new retrospective, Paso por Aqui: George Hallmark’s Return. The exhibition, which is ongoing through December 20, 2019, will present work from throughout Hallmark’s impressive career.
Solitude, oil, 16 x 12”
“I started my career painting primarily contemporary cowboy subject matter. During the late ’70s and early ’80s, it seemed as though anyone who could pick up a paintbrush was painting the same thing. It was time to go in a different direction. My ‘real’ job had been as an architectural designer and delineator.
Beans and Cornbread, oil, 12 x 16”
I understood how to draw buildings and loved old architecture. Thus, began a 40-year career,” Hallmark says. “I remember participating in the Haley Library Memorial Show one year, soon after the new direction I had taken. Several people were gathered around my work anticipating whose name would be drawn and that became the turning point. I continue today on the same path I chose those many years ago. Many thanks to the Haley and Midland.”
La Primavera, oil, 24 x 20”
Works in the retrospective will include many of the subjects that Hallmark is well known for: timeless views of ranch houses, nocturnes of adobe missions, Mexican street scenes and amazing examples of Spanish architecture that still stand north and south of the border. In Sharing a Drink, the artist paints another frequent subject—pack-laden burros. The painting shows Hallmark’s skill at capturing light, mood and the little details that bring street scenes to life.
The artist, whose work will next be seen at the Prix de West in Oklahoma, is grateful for all his collectors, but holds dear some of his earliest supporters. “We have been blessed,” he says. —
Paso por Aqui: George Hallmark’s Return
Through December 20, 2019
Haley Memorial Library and J. Evetts Haley History Center, 1805 W. Indiana Avenue, Midland, TX 79701
(432) 682-5785, www.haleylibrary.com
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