Jan Herring

Jan Herring (1923 - February 28, 2000) was an American artist. Herring was based in Clint, Texas and showed her work around the United States. Herring began showing her work in 1950 and worked as an instructor at the El Paso Museum of Art. She was inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.

Biography

Herring was born in Haver, Montana and grew up in South Dakota.[1][2] She went to the Northern State Teachers' College in South Dakota.[3] Herring also earned a degree in nursing in Columbus, Ohio, studying at the Grant Hospital.[2] Herring worked as a member of the Army Nurse Corps during World War II.[4] She also met her husband, a tail gunner in a B-24, and Texas A&M class of 1941 graduate, Henry Herring, in Columbus.[2] The couple moved to Clint, Texas around 1947 and started a dairy farm.[2] She and Henry had three children together.[3] Herring also attended the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and also studied with artists, Wiltz Harrison and Frederic Taubes.[3] Herring's son, Bill, also went onto become an artist and her daughter, Helen Green and Herring's husband, Henry, also began to create art.[1][4]

Herring began exhibiting her work in 1950.[5] Herring was elected into the first group of officers for the Las Artistas Verdes Chapter of the Amateur Artists Association of America in 1953.[6] She was showing her work at the new Rio Valle Woman's Club clubhouse in 1954.[7] In the late 1950s, she was working as a permanent art instructor at the Taubes Art Colony in Ruidoso, which she did for several years.[8][9] She was an artist-in-residence at the El Paso Museum of Art in 1962.[10]

Herring created an artist center in Clint, called the Jan Herring Design Center in 1965.[11] In 1971, she published a book, The Painter's Composition Handbook, which discussed her painting techniques.[5] According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, her book "gives an organized step-by-step teaching plan that can be applied to any age group or any level of development."[12] Herring was inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.[13]

Herring developed Lou Gehrig's disease, but continued to paint "to the very end," according to her son.[1] She died on February 28, 2000.[4] Herring was buried at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.[4]

Work

Herring thought of herself as a "modern Flemish painter," using old techniques.[14] Later, she worked with the technique of using pastel underpainting on board.[3] Herring worked in oil paint, water colors, enamels and also did sculpture and fabric arts.[15] Herring was inspired by nature and created more than 12,000 works in different mediums.[4]

Herring earned an American Artist Gold Medal in 1956 and was on the Ford Foundation grant board.[1] Herring held one-artist shows in New York.[16] She also exhibited her work in Santa Fe, in Tulsa and throughout Texas in 1958.[17] Also in 1958, her work was selected as part of the traveling D. D. Feldman Collection, which selected the best art work in Texas annually.[17] In 1960, Herring and artist, Warren Travis, appeared in Art in Motion on KTSM-TV, a program sponsored by the Junior League of El Paso, Texas Western College and the El Paso Museum of Art.[18] In 1962, Herring showed her work at the Burr Gallery in New York.[10] Her art was featured in an article of House Beautiful in February of 1964.[19] In 1966, Herring was part of an exhibition at the El Paso Museum of Art called "The Four Women Artists."[20] She held a one-person show at the Roswell Museum in 1969.[21] By the end of her life, she had held more than 103 one-person shows across the country.[1]

References
  1. Villalva, Maribel (25 December 2000). "Living Legacy". El Paso Times. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Galleries Sponsors Art Collection of Jan Herring". The Odessa American. 7 December 1965. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Jan Herring Exhibit Opens Thursday". The Odessa American. 2 December 1968. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Flores-Ritter, Erin (1 March 2000). "'Enchanting' Clint Artist Herring Dies". El Paso Times. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Funkhouser, Barbara (11 April 1971). "Artist Does Book on New Method of Painting". El Paso Times. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Artists Organize in Valley". El Paso Herald-Post. 23 November 1953. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Rio Valle Woman's Club Sponsors Art Exhibit at New Clubhouse". El Paso Herald-Post. 29 March 1954. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Workshop Art Exhibit Slated Sunday". El Paso Times. 24 February 1957. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Noted Artist Conducts EP Workshop". El Paso Times. 17 February 1957. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "NY Gallery Honoring Area Artist". El Paso Times. 21 May 1961. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Funkhouser, Barbara (31 October 1965). "Art is Basis of Lower Valley Design Center". El Paso Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com. and "Continued from Preceding Page". El Paso Times. 31 October 1965. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Jan Herring to Sign Books Today". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. 23 May 1971. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Davis, Mary Margaret (23 March 1990). "5 Enter El Paso Women's Hall of Fame". El Paso Times. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "OAA-Sponsored Exhibit To Be Open Through Week". The Odessa American. 15 March 1959. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Room Colors Tell Owner's Personalities". El Paso Herald-Post. 19 October 1971. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Clint Housewife Artist of Month". Express and News. 4 December 1960. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Jan Herring Receives Wide Honors for Work in Art". El Paso Times. 14 September 1958. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Art Appreciation Series Slated to Start Saturday". El Paso Times. 18 March 1960. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Artist Known Here Magazine Feature". The Daily Reporter. 20 January 1964. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Palette Sketches". El Paso Times. 22 May 1966. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Roswell Shows Herring Work". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. 27 April 1969. Retrieved 17 March 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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