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Our current exhibit, In a Different Light, places the work by Frederic Remington alongside artworks by Winslow Homer. Our visitors and readers are likely familiar with Remington. But who was Homer? Winslow Homer (1836 - 1910) was one of the most popular and celebrated artists of late nineteenth-century America. A native of Boston, he was born the second of three brothers to Henrietta Benson and Charles Homer. Henrietta was herself a gifted watercolorist, and likely influenced her son to pursue artistic studies. Winslow Homer His earliest artistic training came in 1854 when Homer became an apprentice to the [...]

In March 2020, the Sid Richardson Museum will open In a Different Light: Winslow Homer & Frederic Remington. The exhibition will offer a reexamination of Remington alongside Homer, two giants in American art. Winslow Homer (1836-1910) was one of the most celebrated American painters of the 19th century. Likewise, Frederic Remington (1861-1909) is considered to be one of the greatest artists of the American West. Though born a generation apart, Homer and Remington were both at the height of their careers in the 1880s and 90s. Winslow Homer (1836-1910) | Two Figures by the Sea | 1882 | Oil [...]

In 1948, A&M College of Texas (now A&M University), established the “Opportunity Award.” The scholarship intended to aid “worthy young men of Texas” who were unable to afford college without financial assistance. Sid Richardson contributed regularly to the fund for several years. Although he was a wealthy business man, Sid came from a humble background much like the young men the scholarship award supported. “I had it sort of rough when I was young, and I’d like to do something for underprivileged kids.” Jesse “Jack” Mercer Couch , 1951 Many of the recipients of the scholarship fund wrote Sid letters [...]

St. Joseph (San José) Island, 8 miles east of the coast of Rockport, TX, is a sand barrier island in Aransas County. The St. Joseph Island Ranch, a stretch of land 19 miles long and up to 5 miles wide, was purchased by Richardson in 1936. Exterior, Sid W. Richardson Residence | MAYNARD L. PARKER (1900-1976) | ca.1947 | Courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California “[Mr. Richardson] enjoyed [San Jose Island] because he could go down there and get away from everything and Perry [Sid’s nephew] liked that because he’d go down there and he liked to fish [...]

Opening September 14, 2019, A Fortune in Oils: Sid Richardson's Personal Collection is a special exhibition that honors Sid Williams Richardson (1891-1959), who left a legacy through his personal collection of western masterworks and the foundation he established in 1947. Woven through the letters, photographs, publications, and his beloved paintings on display is the story of a plain-spoken, unpretentious, and intensely private man whose wealth, earned principally from West Texas petroleum, enabled him to pursue his interests as a cattleman, philanthropist, and collector of paintings. Peter Hurd, Portrait of Sid Richardson, 1958, Oil on panel, 32 x 48 inches [...]