Jerry Bywaters papers
name: label: Creator
content: Bywaters, Jerry
label: Names
content: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts
topic: label: Occupation
content: Museum directors -- Texas -- Dallas
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Texas -- Dallas
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1979 by Jerry Bywaters except for the correspondence on reel 1512, which he lent for microfilming. Microfilmed as part of the Archives of American Art's Texas project. Three photographs were inadvertently not microfilmed.
creator: label: Creator
content: Bywaters, Jerry
setName: label: See more items in
content: Jerry Bywaters papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Jerry Bywaters measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1978. The papers document Bywaters' career as a painter and art historian through a resume, interviews, and other professional activity material; artist files consisting of interviews, resumes, clippings, and photographs of works for various artists; and exhibition announcements, catalogs, and other printed material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Jerry Bywaters (1906-1989) was an American artist, university professor, museum director, art critic and a historian of the Texas region. Based in Dallas, Bywaters worked to elevate the quality of Texas art, attracting national recognition to the art of the region. Bywaters was born in Paris, Texas in 1906, and he studied English at Southern Methodist University. In 1927 he began studying art while traveling through Europe, and he went on to study at Old Lyme Art Colony in Connecticut and at the Art Students League in New York City. Bywaters became known for producing landscapes, still lifes and portrait paintings, as well as lithographic prints and murals. In addition, Bywaters worked as an art and art history professor at Southern Methodist University, and he served as director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts from 1943 to 1964. Bywaters died in 1989.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1936-1978
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.bywajerr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: Professional Activity Files, circa 1953-1976 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Artist Files, 1936-1978 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1943-1978 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2022.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 1512-1513, 1648-1649 and 3752-3753 available for use at Archives of American Art offices; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Jerry Bywaters measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1978. The papers document Bywaters' career as a painter and art historian through a resume, interviews, and other professional activity material; artist files consisting of interviews, resumes, clippings, and photographs of works for various artists; and exhibition announcements, catalogs, and other printed material. 

Professional activity files consists of a resume, an interview with art historian Marla Redelsperger, two interviews which are mostly an account of Bywaters' life, and photographs of Bywaters and his artwork.

Artist files consist of files on various artists Bywaters researched during his career. Materials include resumes, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, interviews, and photographs of the artists or some of their works. Also included are two interviews with architect John Staub and Nina Cullinan who was associated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Bywaters did not conduct these interviews.

Printed material consists of exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and the article, "Art Museums: Repositories, or Creative Centers?" written by Bywaters.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: Correspondence, reel 1512: Originals returned to Jerry Bywaters after microfilming. Some letters were subsequently filed in the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts Registrarial painting files; others are in Southern Methodist University Archives.