| Cox, Holly |
|
(b. 1932)
Place of Birth: Clarksburg, West Virginia History: Third generation El Paso artist, Holly Cox, was born in 1932. She is the daughter of painter and muralist, Eugene Thurston and his wife Anna Lind Thurston. Her grandmother, Fern Thurston was also a Texas artist. Cox received her B.A. degree in art from Texas Western College, now University of Texas at El Paso. While pursuing her degree, Cox studied art with Eloise Hobble, Urbici Soler, Robert Massey, Ellen Coogler, and Kelly Fearing. Later, she participated in short courses under the instruction of Rogelio Madera de la Pena, Ben Konis, and Dong Kingman. Cox also studied extensively with Win Korf. She subsequently taught not only in the public schools, the YMCA, the El Paso Museum of Art, but at her studio as well. Cox’s extensive involvement within a number of arts associations includes a past presidency of the El Paso Art Association. She is also a signature member of the Rio Bravo Watercolorists, a member of the National Society of Arts and Letter, and is listed in Who’s Who in America. Cox is also a member of the Board of Directors of CASETA, the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art. Furthermore, Cox co-authored the Guide to Early Texas El Paso Artists with Dr. Carol Price Miller. They have also written a yet to be published biography of Eugene Thurston and his contemporaries. Painting and exhibiting with her father was a source of great pleasure until his death in 1993. Since her premier exhibit in 1949 at the El Paso Woman's Club Open Air Exhibit, Cox has participated in hundreds of exhibitions throughout the following 57 years. These included solo and two-person shows, group exhibits, and group and invitational exhibitions. Her work has been shown throughout the United States as well as in Mexico. In 1952, Cox exhibited in the National Society of Arts and Letters Career Awards Exhibition at Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. Cox’s Bryce Canyon was shown in the El Paso Art Association Annual Sun Carnival Regional Exhibit in 1958. The El Paso Museum of art exhibited her work on multiple occasions including the 9th Annual Arts and Skills Exhibit in 1964 as well as the El Paso Art Association Member Annual Exhibition in 1979. More recent exhibitions include the Opening Exhibit for the International Museum of Art, 1999, Art Across the Border- Museo de Arqueologico in Juarez, Mexico, 2000 and 'The Terrain", Las Cruces Museum of Fine Art in 2004. Additionally, Cox has won numerous awards, and her works are included in both public and private collections. Cox always begins the creative process with the question, “What if.” This applies to both realism and abstraction which she has created interchangeably throughout her career. She values the process of painting. For Cox, “the excitement lies in solving a problem that [she has] never before worked on.” |