February 16–May 11, 2008
Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s
A fascinating story of visual art and American modernism is embedded in the history of 1940s Fort Worth. This special exhibition features more than 100 paintings, watercolors, and prints created by a group of artists who were among the first to introduce progressive art to this region.
Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s represents the first in-depth examination of the work of these influential artists, from their early social and artistic encounters through their rapid attainment of their own signature aesthetics. Drawn together by a shared interest in art, dance, music, theater, and myth, they sought new avenues of artistic expression to counter the prevailing preference for regionalism and other more conservative artistic styles.
Guided tours for Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s take place Thursday through Sunday at 3:30 p.m. No reservations are required.
Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s is organized by the Amon Carter Museum. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue are made possible in part by RBC Wealth Management, William E. Scott Foundation, Humanities Texas, Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), Mrs. W. K. Gordon Jr., Quicksilver Resources, Betty Sanders Family, Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden, and numerous individuals and organizations who remember and value these Fort Worth artists.
Related Events
Saturday, February 16, 11 a.m.
Continuity and Change: Collecting the Fort Worth Circle
Lecture
Scott Grant Barker, cultural historian, and Jane Myers, senior curator of prints and drawings, Amon Carter Museum
From the eclectic collections of mid-century Fort Worth residents to present-day Texas art aficionados, this talk charts key moments in the acquisition, by both private collectors and public institutions, of works from the Circle executed in the 1940s.
Reservations are required; seating is limited. Please call 817.989.5057 by February 13 to register; confirmation will be sent.
Sunday, March 9, 1 p.m.
Make a Scene!
Target Family Fun Days
Create a costume and participate in a museum performance activity. Tour the galleries and create your own modern artwork based on the special exhibition Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s.
Target Family Fun Days are generously supported by 
Saturday, March 29, 11 a.m.
Fort Worth: How Cowtown Became a Center for Art in the West
Lecture
Dave Hickey, Schaeffer professor of modern letters, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
In conjunction with Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s, nationally renowned art critic Dave Hickey will explore the Fort Worth art world during that time and how it intersected with what was happening in the western United States.
Reservations are required; seating is limited. Please call 817.989.5057 by March 26 to register; confirmation will be sent.
Thursday, April 3, 4:30 p.m.
Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s
Educator Workshop
$12 for museum members and $15 for nonmembers
Discover a group of artists who, in the 1940s, were among the first to introduce progressive art to the Lone Star State. Learn how their shared interest in art, dance, music, theater, and myth provided new avenues of artistic expression to counter the prevailing preference for more traditional artistic styles. This workshop connects to all levels of language arts, music, social studies, theater, and visual art and presents ideas on oral history projects.
Saturday, April 5, 7 p.m.
Tempest in a Dream
Performance
Adapted and directed by Diane Simons, Hip Pocket Theater
Presented in the Back Gallery at the Fort Worth Community Art Center
Experience an interactive, family-friendly tribute to Dickson and Flora Reeder and their Reeder Children’s Theater and Design for Children, which during the 1940s and 1950s had a tremendous impact on the Fort Worth community, and whose influence is still seen today at the Hip Pocket Theatre. Works by the Reeders are on view in Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Betty Sanders Family.
Free tickets will be available starting February 16. Please call 817.989.5057 or e-mail education@cartermuseum.org for more information.
Sunday, April 6, 2 p.m.
Tempest in a Dream
Performance
Adapted and directed by Diane Simons, Hip Pocket Theater
Presented in the Back Gallery at the Fort Worth Community Art Center
Experience an interactive, family friendly tribute to Dickson and Flora Reeder and their Reeder School of Theater and Design for Children, which during the 1940s and 1950s had a tremendous impact on the Fort Worth community and whose influence is still seen today at the Hip Pocket Theatre. Works by the Reeders are on view at the Carter in Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s.
This performance is underwritten by a generous grant from the Betty Sanders Family.
Free tickets will be available starting February 16. Please call 817.989.5057 or e-mail education@cartermuseum.org for more information.
Friday, April 11, 7 p.m.
Tempest in a Dream
Performance
Adapted and directed by Diane Simons, Hip Pocket Theater
Presented in the Back Gallery at the Fort Worth Community Art Center
Experience an interactive, family friendly tribute to Dickson and Flora Reeder and their Reeder School of Theater and Design for Children, which during the 1940s and 1950s had a tremendous impact on the Fort Worth community and whose influence is still seen today at the Hip Pocket Theatre. Works by the Reeders are on view at the Carter in Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s.
This performance is underwritten by a generous grant from the Betty Sanders Family.
Free tickets will be available starting February 16. Please call 817.989.5057 or e-mail education@cartermuseum.org for more information.
Saturday, April 12, 7 p.m.
Tempest in a Dream
Performance
Adapted and directed by Diane Simons, Hip Pocket Theater
Presented in the Back Gallery at the Fort Worth Community Art Center
Experience an interactive, family friendly tribute to Dickson and Flora Reeder and their Reeder School of Theatre and Design for Children, which during the 1940s and 1950s had a tremendous impact on the Fort Worth community and whose influence is still seen today at the Hip Pocket Theatre. Works by the Reeders are on view at the Carter in Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s.
This performance is underwritten by a generous grant from the Betty Sanders Family.
Free tickets will be available starting February 16. Please call 817.989.5057 or e-mail education@cartermuseum.org for more information.
I was a student @ the Reeder School of Theatre & Design and only tonight learned of the Exhibition! Later I sat as a subject for Dickson and studied privately under Flora while I was a student @ TCU. I have a portrait and also an artist’s proof of one of Dickson’s lithographs which I will always treasure but would be willing to loan should there be a future exhibition.
If there is a booklet which I could purchase, please let me know as I live in Amarillo and it is not likely that I could come for one of Diane Simons presentations - though I would love to see her since I haven’t since we were classmates @ TCU.
My love for the arts and the stage were inspired and nurtured by Dick and Flora - just like it was for many of the people in Ft Worth - and I truly feel that is why Ft Worth has for the last 50 years been so much stronger in the arts than the city to the East! Because they saw to it that we had outstanding instruction in art, ballet, fencing and drama. Our costumes were made of the finest materials. The Reeder School was 2nd only to King Coit Children’s Theatre School in New York City! Our sets on the Little Theatre Stage @ TCU were 2 story, modeled after the Elizabethan ones at the Globe Theatre in Shakespeare’s England. And before they were ever built, we made minature ones in art class under Dickson’s tutelage!
Thank you, Carter Museum, for showing Fort Worth one of the many reasons that Fort Worth shines like a gem not just in Texas, but in the U.S.!
— Paula McClung Camp, February 27, 2008, 8:35 p.m.