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Texas Arts & Literature

A number of famous writers and playwrights call Texas home. J. Frank Dobie writings described the richness of the culture of Texas and the Southwest. His works include Vaquero of the Brush Country and Coronado's Children, which won the Literary Guild Award for 1931. Other well known Texas writers include Roy Bedicheck, Katherine Anne Porter, George Sessions Perry, William A. Owens, Terry Southern, Larry L. King and Fred Gipson, author of Old Yeller. Perhaps Texas�s most famous recent writer is Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry, author of The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment and Lonesome Dove. Recent Hispanic authors and poets from Texas include Tomas Rivera and Pat Mora.

Orchestral music has not garnered the same statewide following as popular music or sports. Yet, by the 1970s, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Ft. Worth and Amarillo hosted symphonies. San Antonio, Dallas and Houston also established acclaimed opera companies. In dance, choreographer Alvin Ailey founded a world famous dance company.

Visual artists from Texas have also made their mark. Modern Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg was born and raised in Port Arthur. Some of his works can be seen at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth. Other Texas artists include Jose Cisneros, Allie Z. Tennant and James Brooks. Texas has numerous art museums, such as the Dallas Museum of Art and the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, which have brought in local and international shows. They attract visitors from all over the state and the region.

Some of the state�s cities host buildings of architectural acclaim. Ft. Worth�s Kimball Art Museum was designed by Louis Kahn, and the Hall of State in Dallas was designed by George L. Dahl.

Untitled Work, Robert Rauschenberg Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth

Additional Resources

bulletFind out more at the Texas Culture and Arts Network.

Study Guide Questions

  1. Identify at least four well-known writers from Texas.
  2. Name two recent Hispanic poets and authors who are from Texas.
  3. Who is Larry McMurtry?
  4. Who is Alvin Ailey?
  5. Name four 20th Century artists who came from Texas?

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