Teague, Texas Post Office Mural Cattle Round-up by Thomas Stell, Jr.. (original) (raw)

"Cattle Roundup"

1940

Muralist: Thomas Stell, Jr.

Teague, Texas post office mural Cattle Round-up, 1940 by Thomas Stell, Jr.

Teague, Texas Post Office Mural "Cattle Roundup"
by Thomas Stell, Jr., 1940
TE Photo, April 2009

A brief bio of the artist:

Thomas Stell Jr. 1898-1966

Born in the South Texas county seat of Cuero, Stell attended school with classmate and friend E. M. (Buck) Schiwetz, another Texas artist-in-the-making. Graduating in 1914 Stell worked as a draftsman in Dallas, Chicago and New York. In the early 1920 he was enrolled in Houston�s Rice Institute (now Rice University) where he was art editor for the yearbook. He later moved to NYC where he got jobs as a set designer, film technician and got his first exposure to muralism. He returned to Texas to teach in Dallas at the Art Institute and the Dallas Architectural Club. He then went back to New York to study art history at Columbia and returned again to Dallas to resume teaching. In 1934 Stell won the first of several commissions for public art � a mural installed at Dallas� Forest Avenue High School. He also painted murals for Corsicana�s Drane Library and assisted other muralists for the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936. He taught at San Antonio�s Trinity University and later at the University of Texas at Austin. He chose San Antonio as his permanent home and worked on a variety of projects there, including the famed Riverwalk and the base of the Tower of the Americas. He died while working on a mosaic for the Riverwalk extension in 1966.

Known primarily as a portraitist, Stell�s commissions are now in private collections although his post office murals can be seen in Teague and Longview Texas and Perry, Oklahoma. His Perry work has been moved to the county museum. His membership in �The Dallas Nine� has insured that his work is included in Southern Methodist University�s Bywater�s Collection. He is buried in Cuero.

"Cattle Roundup" mural details:

Vulture on cactus, Teague TX PO mural "Cattle Round-up" detail

Longhorn and horse, Teague TX PO mural "Cattle Round-up" detail

Cowboy with cattle, Teague TX PO mural "Cattle Round-up" detail

Cowboy roping, Teague TX PO mural "Cattle Round-up" detail

Cowboy roping
Teague TX PO mural "Cattle Round-up" detail
Painting by Thomas Stell, reins by M. C. Escher
TE Photo, April 2009

Armadillo and cactus, Teague TX PO mural "Cattle Round-up" detail

Armadillo and Whimsical Cactus

Teague TX PO mural "Cattle Round-up" detail

Teague, Texas post office lobby with mural Cattle Round-up, 1940 by Thomas Stell, Jr.

The mural in situ
TE Photo, April 2009

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