6 Watercolor artist | APRIL 2019
Happenings
/ MAKING A SPLASH /
Tex a s Water color S o ciet y
wasn’t often encouraged in women.
“Th ey were very active in San Antonio
and traveled the globe, frequently
visiting Europe to study the art
there,” says Publicity Chair Martha
Philipp. “Th ey gave exceptional gifts
to the McNay Art Museum here in
San Antonio.”
In addition to the Society, Lee was a
founder of the San Antonio Symphony
and the San Antonio Art League. She
had 149 solo exhibitions in her life and
was inducted into the Texas Women’s
Hall of Fame in 1984. Th e documen-
tary “Reality Is Becoming” is about
her extraordinary life.Th is year, the Texas Watercolor
Society celebrates 70 years of inspir-
ing, teaching and showcasing local
artists. Th e Society is planning an
anniversary exhibition with calls for
entries in February and artist Carol
Carter as juror of the entries. Th e
show will open May 29 and off er
workshops with Carter at the Kelso
Art Center of the University of the
Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
Th e founders of the society were
Amy Freeman Lee and Margaret
Bosshardt Pace Willson, bold and
worldly artists who—in 1949—took
charge in an era when leadershipWillson was well known for her
watercolor work in the U.S., but she
made a second home in Venice. She
was a founder of the Southwest School
of Arts and Crafts, and served on the
board for the San Antonio Museum of
Art. Perhaps most famous for her
family business, Pace Foods, Willson’s
true passion was always teaching art.
Both founders’ legacies will be honored
over the next year of celebrations.Caribbean Showers (watercolor on paper,
33x42) by Charles Rouse won the Best of Show
Award in the Texas Watercolor Society’s 69th
Annual Exhibition in 2018.