Opening day for the Rex, Birds, and Viola exhibit

Sept. 25 was the opening day for the Rex, Birds, and Viola exhibit at the Heritage Center of Cherokee County. Michael Banks invited his Neches River Wildlife Refuge friends to come see the bird paintings by artist, Rex Brasher. Michael shared the following story with his friends. That is Michael Banks showing the major difference in the quality of Brasher’s painting and Audubon’s painting of the same bird – the Mississippi Kite.
Also, at the museum for the opening of this exhibit was the descendants of the Dickinson Family – the great grandchildren of E. C. Dickinson and Carrie Simmons Dickinson – Julia Crowder, Julia’s son, Jerome Crowder, and Julia’s niece, Beth. Brother and sister - Lee Benner and Caroline Williams.

The exhibit came to be when a treasure was donated to the museum back in May of this year, seven original hand-painted bird paintings by Rex Brasher (b 1969 – d 1960). Betty Marcontell, Curator of the Museum, began researching Rex Brasher and who first donated these bird paintings to the library in 1973. She found that they were donated by the Dickinson family (pioneer family from Rusk beginning in the 1850s) in memory of Viola Dickinson, one of six daughters of E. C. Dickinson and Carrie Simmons Dickinson of Rusk. So where did Viola get these bird paintings and how did she meet the artist, Rex Brasher. After searching the archives of the Rusk Cherokeean online, it was discovered that Viola was in Washington D. C. in late 1932. She was visited by her niece, Roselyn Wightman whose mother was Viola’s sister. Viola was in Washington D.C. all of 1933 and presumed to have met Rex Brasher, Painter of Birds, at the Rare Book Store on Seventeenth Street where Rex was showing his hand-painted bird paintings.

So, why and how did Rex Brasher paint all the birds of North America – 874 separate paintings including 1,200 species and subspecies of birds, 3,000 individual birds, and more than 350 species of trees and shrubs. All through Rex’s childhood, his dad, Phillip, taught Rex to love the outdoors, developing his love of nature and especially birds, all kinds of birds. His dad was such a bird lover, he tried to meet with John J. Audubon when Audubon was painting his birds in watercolor. Audubon snubbed Rex’s dad which motivated Rex to vow to paint all the birds of North America – twice as many as Audubon and do it much better – in their natural habitat, not what Audubon did -- killing his birds, stuffing them and painting the birds in his house. Rex set out to begin this project at age 15. He traveled by foot, by boat, by train to all areas of the United States. He sketched the birds in their natural habitat and mailed his sketches home; then watercolored each painting. In 1924, he completed all 874 paintings at the age of 55.
Now what? How would the public be able to see his paintings? Rex worked different jobs in order to pay for his passion of painting birds, and one was printing lithographs. He decided that he could print 75-100 black / white lithographs of each original watercolored painting, and then use a new technique of hand-painting each one with airbrushing. By 1933, he had finished nearly 90,000 individual paintings, creating 75-100 twelve volume sets of his birds. These sets had been commissioned by wealthy people in the northeast at $1,000 per 12-volume set, but, America was in the throws of the Great Depression, and people were backing out of their commitment to purchase the sets of paintings. His 75-100 sets were finished (Brasher organization are not sure how many 12-volume sets were completed. They know for sure there were 75, but other sources say that his goal of 100 sets was reached.)

1933 - Rex was showing some of his paintings at the Rare Book Store on Seventeenth St. in Washington D.C. This is when Viola showed up in his life. According to the Dickinson family, she was the key person who helped Rex sell his 75-100 sets. Viola Dickinson was living in Washington D.C. for a short time, but she and Rex remained lifelong friends. While in D.C., Viola was a reader on a radio show in D.C. called "Voice of the South." In 1934, Viola came back to Houston with two 12-volume sets. One set went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and she kept a set which she took apart - gave individual paintings to family and friends. That’s how the seven bird paintings got to the Rusk Library in 1973. Now, their permanent home is in the Heritage Center of Cherokee County Museum located at 208 S. Henderson St. in downtown Rusk. There is so much more to share about this story.
Also at the museum for the opening of this exhibit was the descendants of the Dickinson Family – the great grandchildren of E. C. Dickinson and Carrie Simmons Dickinson – Julia Crowder, Julia’s son, Jerome Crowder, and Julia’s niece, Beth. Brother and sister - Lee Benner and Caroline Williams.

Caroline Williams, Lee Benner, Julia Crowder and Beth ? , and Jerome Crowder are sitting on the steps of their grandparent’s home - Kate Dickinson Powell home built in 1916 by Cader Benjamin Powell. This house was later bought by Leo Tosh.

The exhibit will be set up in its special showing through the end of November. Museum hours are Saturdays 11-3; Sundays 1-5; and weekdays are open by appointment. Call Betty Marcontell if you want a weekday tour of the museum and see the bird paintings up close.