The Center Supports the Acquisition, Research, and Conservation of the Work and Archives of 20th-Century Artists Scott G. and Stuart W. Gentling

Fort Worth, TX, August 7, 2019—The Amon Carter Museum of American Art announces the establishment of the Gentling Study Center to enhance the recognition of two of Fort Worth’s most notable artists, brothers Scott G. Gentling and Stuart W. Gentling. The Center will secure the Gentlings’ rightful place among the foremost American painters of the last half of the twentieth century, creating an accessible resource where scholars and the general public alike will be able to experience, research and enjoy their contributions to the field. It is envisioned that the Carter will become the repository for many of the Gentlings’ finest works. The Center will be housed in a new collections Study Room alongside the museum’s esteemed research library, and will be managed by a dedicated curator who will oversee its fellowship, publication, acquisition, and exhibition programs. The new initiative complements the museum’s major collection of artist archives, advancing the Carter as a premier research institution in the field of American art.

“Through recent significant gifts, the museum is delighted to more fully engage our audiences with the close study of the Gentlings’ legacy and demonstrate our commitment to overlooked artists,” said Andrew J. Walker, Executive Director.

In conjunction with the Gentling Study Center, the Carter has established an endowed yearly fellowship to support intensive ongoing research and scholarship, drawing upon the museum’s deep monographic resources within the library, archives, and art collections. To promote access to these materials for both scholars and the public, the museum will open the new Study Room in September 2019.

The Center is the result of several major gifts. In 2015, Suzanne Gentling, executor of the Gentling’s estate, placed the brothers’ personal papers and diaries at the museum to establish an archive. Recognizing her gift, and committed to cooperation across the Cultural District, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) subsequently transferred to the Carter its historical collection of paintings, drawings, and study material related to the Gentlings’ most famous project: Of Birds and Texas. In addition, major support from Edward P. Bass, whose vision and leadership inspired the founding of the Center, allowed the Carter to acquire a significant collection of Gentling artworks from the estate and to establish endowments to support the Center’s mission.

“I don’t know what Stuart and Scott are working on these days, wherever they are, but I’m certain that they’re as honored and excited as I am that their archive has found its new home here at the Amon Carter Museum in their beloved Fort Worth, and that their work will serve as a genesis for the preservation and research of other artists’ archives in the future. None of this would have been possible without the vision and support of Ed Bass and all of the museum staff who have contributed to this project. I’m very grateful,” stated Suzanne Gentling.

Van Romans, President of FWMSH, commented, “This consolidation of Gentling materials at the Carter marks a significant day for Fort Worth and is the embodiment of the Cultural District’s unique collaborative spirit that enhances our community with extraordinary national treasures.”

The Gentlings’ forty original bird paintings and associated preparatory material from the portfolio Of Birds and Texas will be on view at the Carter in two focused exhibitions in September and December 2019. A comprehensive career retrospective on the Gentlings is planned for mid-2021. An accompanying publication, the first major monograph on the artists, will engage eminent scholars to explore the brothers’ place within the larger national art canon. In future years, the Center will support ongoing programming of other important monographic and archival collections at the museum, with a focus on advancing the rich legacies of underappreciated artists.

Individuals with Gentling work in their private collections are encouraged to contact Gentling Curator Jonathan Frembling or Gentling Curatorial Assistant Janelle Montgomery via email at Gentling@cartermuseum.org to have their objects documented in the artists’ raisonné. 

About Scott G. and Stuart W. Gentling

Born in Rochester, Minnesota, Scott (1942–2011) and Stuart Gentling (1942–2006) moved to Fort Worth at the age of five. Their creative collaboration began in childhood and continued throughout their lives. An early interest in the work of naturalist John James Audubon ultimately inspired their Of Birds and Texas project. The Gentling brothers’ keen powers of observation evolved into a painting style rooted in naturalism yet imbued with romantic realism. Dedicating years of study to the subjects they depicted, whether it was the birds of Texas or scenes of Tenochtitlán (today’s Mexico City), the artists explored themes in series that functioned as visual metaphors for the passage of time. In the late 1990s, Scott and Stuart were commissioned to design the murals in Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth, and in 2001 Scott painted the official gubernatorial portrait of George W. Bush.

About the Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Located in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art explores the breadth and complexity of American creativity through an important and dynamic art collection. The Carter opened in 1961 to benefit its community by sharing the wonder of American art, fostering the growth of a vibrant cultural spirit, and stimulating everyone’s artistic imagination. Housed in a building designed by Philip Johnson (1906–2005), the Carter features one of the great collections of American art including masterworks of painting, sculpture, and works on paper by artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, John Singer Sargent, Frederic Church, Thomas Eakins, Grant Wood, Alexander Calder, and Stuart Davis. The Carter is also home to a world-renowned photography collection that spans the history of the medium from the 19th century to today. It is also home to Amon G. Carter Sr.’s collection of nearly 400 works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, two of the most significant artists of the American West. Admission is free. Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday 12–5 p.m. Closed Mondays and select holidays.

Images: Scott Gentling (1942–2011), Stuart Gentling (1942–2006), Purple Gallinule, 1982–85, graphite, opaque and transparent watercolor, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Gift of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History; Unknown Photographer, [Scott and Stuart Gentling], ca. 1975, photograph, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Gift of the Gentling Family; Scott (1942–2011) and Stuart (1942–2006) Gentling, Beethoven, date unknown, graphite on paper, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas