You'll Go Wild. . .

. . . over this superb silk scarf from the French luxury design house Hermès. First introduced in 1986, this design is called "Faune et Flore du Texas” (animals and flowers of Texas).

Of course, any Texas-themed accessory must include a longhorn!

The Texas state bird, the mockingbird, serenades the Texas official small mammal, the armadillo.

"The coyotes wail, along the trail, deep in the heart of Texas. . . ."

A majestic mountain lion.

Birds of a feature also flock together.

However, this scarf is extra special. The original Hermès design had a banner framing the longhorn that read "Faune et Flore du Texas” and "Texas Wildlife." But on this example, the banner instead reads “The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston” and "Kermit Oliver 2005.” Hermès reissued this scarf in 2005 in a special edition as part of a retrospective of Oliver’s works at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

Born in 1943 in Refugio, Texas, where his father worked on a cattle ranch, the young Oliver demonstrated a talent for drawing animals and flowers, He graduated from Texas Southern University in Houston in 1967 with Bachelor of Fine Arts and art education degrees. Oliver initially taught at Texas Southern University, but instead decided to focus on his art. He was the first African-American artist in Houston to be represented by a major commercial gallery. While Oliver quickly became a highly successful and sought after artist, he was never comfortable in that role and the demands of the gallery scene. In 1978, Oliver began working as a processor at a Houston post office and later transferred to Waco, sorting mail on the night shift so that he could paint during the day, pursuing his own vision and occasionally working on commission. He retired from postal service in 2013 and continues to paint and draw. Oliver refers to his work as "painted collages," interposing a variety of realistically rendered images of people, animals, and plants, sometimes with surreal, mythological, or religious themes. 

His partnership with Hermes began in 1980. Hermès approached Lawrence Marcus of the renown upscale department store Neiman Marcus regarding whether he could recommend an American artist to design for a scarf with a Southwestern theme. Marcus referred the company to Oliver. Oliver has since designed 17 designs for the company. He is in fact the only American artist who has designed for Hermès.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

Awesome Abstract

This monumental painting is by Richard Stout (1934-2020), a Texas artist renown for his abstract works, often incorporating landscape and architectural elements, and his masterful blending of vibrant colors. Born in Beaumont, Stout studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and the Art Institute of Chicago, attaining his MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. Stout arrived in Houston in 1959 and was an instructor at the Museum School of the Houston Museum of Fine Art until 1967. He taught as an associate professor of art at the University of Houston from 1969 through 1996. Stout was an important figure in the Houston art community for 60 years, mentoring many younger artists. His works have been exhibited in museums throughout Texas, the United States, and abroad, including the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Witte Museum, the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, the El Paso Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Arts Museum. The Houston Art League named Stout the Artist of the Year in 2004. His works are in many private and public collections, including the Huntington Gallery at the University of Texas in Austin, Kupferstichkaabinett, Museum of Fine Art in Dresden,The McNay Museum in San Antonio, The Menil Collection in Houston, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

 This work is not signed, but in an email exchange with the consignor, Stout confirms that the painting is definitely his work and dates between 1996 and 1967 when he was studying for his MFA. A copy of the emails will be included with the artwork (the consignor's name is blacked out for privacy reasons).

All listed items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

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