Chambers Library Monthly Exhibitions

Emilio Amero (Mexican, 1901-1976), Boy with Fawn, nd. Etching. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Emilio Amero was born in the village of Ixtlahuaca in the northeastern part of the State of Mexico in 1901. In 1911 Amero began his studies in art at the Academy of San Carlos while also taking private drawing lessons from a well-known newspaper artist, Antonio Gomez. In 1917 Amero started working for the Mexico Nuevo newspaper and continued his education at the academy.

Soon thereafter, Amero worked on murals for the Preparatory School and Ministry of Education with well-known artists Jean Charlot and Diego Rivera, among others. Amero is credited with reviving the graphic arts, lithography in particular, which happened to coincide with the mural renaissance in Mexico.

In 1924 Amero went to New York where he worked for several magazines and newspapers. He then taught at the University of Washington in Seattle and the Cornish School before becoming a member of the art faculty at the University of Oklahoma in 1946.

Thomas Batista Correa (Venezuelan, 1964-2020), Untitled, nd. Acrylic. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Born in LaGuaria, Venezula, Thomas Batista Correa, was a longtime resident of Oklahoma City before he passed away in the summer of 2020. Correa received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in art from Oklahoma City University and studied at Atelier Nazaret Charitas in La Guaira and Academia de Arte Power and Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela.

He worked for Ackerman McQueen and Jordan Advertising as well as at the Omniplex (now the Science Museum Oklahoma) before he opened his own advertising and graphic design business. Correa also opened the Baptista School of Art in the Paseo Arts District, and he even found time to teach at the university level.

As an artist, art teacher and entrepreneur, his vivid abstract paintings have been exhibited across the United States and internationally and are held in private and public collections around the world.
 

Winifred May Bowen Furray (1888-1977). Mexicans, nd. Colored pencil. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Winifred May Furray was born in Chillocothe, Missouri in 1888. Her family moved to Norman when she was 15 years old where she would spend the rest of her life. She studied fine art at the prestigious Chicago Art Institute and continued cultivating her craft by studying under varies artists in Oklahoma, California and New Mexico.

During her career, which spanned the years 1915-1970, Furray taught many forms of art including china painting, oil and water color painting, and weaving. She also taught color theory and design at Oklahoma City University for several years.

Furray was an honorary charter member of Kappa Pi national art fraternity. She was also a member of the Oklahoma Art Center and the Art League, and belonged to the Oklahoma Artist Association in the 1920s and 30s.
 

Jaques Hans Gallrein (American, 1888-1978), Old Mexico, 1936. Oil on canvas board. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Jaques Hans Gallrein was born in Magdeburg, Germany, on June 29, 1888. He studied art at the Kunstgewerbe and Handwerker Schule, a technical art school in Keil, Germany. At the age of eighteen, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Art in Munich. Gallrein’s father taught him the importance of ecology which had a lasting impact on his choice of subject matter painting western landscapes throughout his life.

In 1908, Gallrein moved to New York City where he worked at the Fischer Art Studio and the Clark Teacher's Agency. During this time, he met other artists who encouraged him to continue westward to paint the wonders to be found there. Taking this advice, he moved to Oklahoma in 1911.

Along with the early teachings of his father, Oklahoma’s diverse landscape and the native cultures of America’s southwest moved Gallrein. While he maintained his residence in Oklahoma, Gallrein traveled extensively across the southwest where he likely found inspiration for Old Mexico.

Mormans, Three Llamas at Cusco, 1977. Watercolor. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Research is ongoing for this artwork.

Mormans, Cusco Peru Llamas, nd. Watercolor. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Research is ongoing for this artwork.

Amado Maurillo Pena (Mexican-Yaqui, b. 1943), Mestizo Series: Acoma, 2006. Mixed media drawing on cradleboard. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Amado Pena was born in 1943 and raised in Laredo, Texas. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in art and art education at Texas A & I University, known today as Texas A&M, in Kingsville, Texas. After graduating Pena spent 16 years teaching art in the Texas public school system. He continues to teach a high school studio art program and is an adjunct professor for the University of Texas.

Pena uses bold color, form, and line to convey his Mestizo of Mexico and Yaqui ancestry in his prints and etchings. He is recognized as an Artisan of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and has established a foundation, the JB Pena Art Has Heart Foundation, which provides low income students arts education in several states across the southwest.