All images and text in 
"The Peter Hurd Fresco" 
virtual exhibition courtesy of
Museum of Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
Text and Images published on our server with the permission of the Museum.


 

Planning The Fresco
W. C. Holden

   The idea of having a Rotunda mural to commemorate the settlement of the South Plains by the pioneers was incorporated into the architectural plans of The Museum when the base of the building was constructed in 1936. In 1953, when the two upper floors containing the sixteen-sided entrance Rotunda were completed, plans for the commemorative mural got under wav. The Board of Trustees of the West Texas Museum Association appointed two committees to facilitate the mural: a Mural Committee to determine the nature and size of the painting and to select an artist, and the Selection Committee to decide which individuals should be chosen to represent each of sixteen categories of pioneers. The Mural Committee decided that the painting should be a continuous one, completely encircling the Rotunda; that it should begin four feet above the floor and extend to the mezzanine floor above; and that this tile wall, twelve and three-quarters feet high and one hundred and eight feet in circumference, should be decorated with a true fresco painting. The Committee determined the criterion by which the artist would be selected: (1) he should have a national reputation; (2) he should have understanding and enthusiasm for historical accuracy; (3) he should be versed in, and sympathetic toward, portrayal of the Southwest; (4) he should have a knowledge of the true fresco technique. Peter Hurd of San Patricio, New Mexico, was chosen without a mural competition.

   The Selection Committee adopted the following criteria: (1) the person must fully merit the category for which he was considered; (2) necessary sponsors should be found to care for the cost of the panel involved. The Committee was aware that scores of pioneers could qualify for the first requirement, but for whom sponsors could not be found. Many of those selected for a category could have qualified for several categories; such as the Town Builder, who was also a Cowboy, a Cattleman and a Banker.

Research for historical material to be used in the mural lasted for two years. Biographical data on the Honorees and hundreds of old photographs were assembled and studied by Peter Hurd and the Director and his wife. Then, with the material in mind, the artist made a rough charcoal sketch on detail paper, scaled to a height of eighteen inches and a length of fourteen feet. Here, the continuous horizon line with the masses and shapes began to take form. Next, a replica of the Rotunda, five feet in diameter, was made to scale. On this, the artist executed a detailed color study of the design worked out in the first sketch. Then each person selected to appear in mural, or a model chosen by the family if the subject were not living or able to pose, went to the artist's studio at San Patricio, where Mr. Hurd made a charcoal portrait of the person. A full size cartoon of each panel was then made in the studio. Into these large charcoal drawings, the figures, landscape details and sky were incorporated. This preparatory work required many months and was completed before Mr. Hurd came to Lubbock to begin the actual painting on the walls.

Mr. Hurd, with his assistants, Manuel Acosta and John Meigs, and his portrait-painting wife, Henriette Wyeth, painted the first six panels in February and March of 1953. He returned ill November of that year and by the end of December had finished six more panels. In October, 1954, he finished the last four panels, completing the largest painting project and the seventh mural in his career.

On November 18, 1954, the mural was dedicated with an impressive ceremony featuring Paul Horgan, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and intimate friend of the Hurds. Concurrent with the dedication was the opening of an exhibition "Peter Hurd Paints a Mural" in the Art Gallery at The Museum and the showing of a color film "Peter Hurd Paints a Fresco." A gala reception honoring Mr. and Mrs. Hurd and associates climaxed the dedication.

Selection Committee:

James H. Milam, James G. Alien, Sam G. Dunn, Spencer Wells and H. L. Alien.

Mural Committee:

W. C. O'Mara, Dr. Elizabeth Skidmore Sasser, Mrs. Bess Hubbard, Mrs. O. V. Adams and Culver Hill.






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