| Thurston, Fern |
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Place of Birth: Crystal Springs, Mississippi
History: Fern Thurston was born in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. Christened Frances after her mother and called Fannie, she later preferred to be known as Fern. In 1906, she moved with her husband, Thomas Thurston, from Memphis, Tennessee to El Paso, Texas. With them were their two sons, Eugene and Charles. Tom began an accounting business which grew to serve a wide area of West Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. Fern joined the Garden Club and Woman’s Club of El Paso where she helped establish the art department and the Art Study Club. She also later became a charter member of the El Paso Art Guild. In 1950, the El Paso Artists’ Association was formed with her as a member. She taught painting in oils and watercolors in her home as well as china painting. Fern had begun to paint while in Memphis under the tutorage of her mother-in-law, Emma Thurston. In El Paso she studied with Dey de Ribcowski and Xavier Gonzales. In later years, she spent many summers with her son Charlie and his family at Martha’s Vinyard where she studied with Michael Jacobs and others. Although art galleries in El Paso were few in the early 1900s, Fern took part in Women’s Club exhibits, San Jacinto Plaza outdoor shows, Art Guild and Art Association shows as well as Chamber of Commerce and Garden Club exhibits. Many years after her death, her work began to circulate through exhibits again beginning with Michael Grauer’s 1993 Panhandle Plains Historical Museum exhibition, “Women Artists of Texas 1850-1950.” Selected Exhibitions: 1934 1st prize El Paso Garden Club Annual 1934 Two person exhibit with Eugene Thurston 1927,1935-1945 El Paso Womans Club exhibitions 1942 Garden Club Exhibit-Award for "Blue Bonnets " 1949 1st Sun Carnival Exhibit 1950 1st El Paso Artists Association exhibit 1952 Woman's Clubs 8th District Convention art exhibit--award, 'White Mums 1956 El Paso Woman's Club Memorial Exhibit for Fern Thurston 1981 "Early El Paso Artists " Centennial Museum-UTEP 1993 Women Artists of Texas 1850-1950 Panhandle Plains Historical Museum 1996 "A Point of View-Texas Women Painters 1900-1960", ElPaso Museum of Art 2000 "Artists of Early El Paso"-- Studio W Gallery 2001 "Round Up" -El Paso Museum of Art 2002 "Burning Desires-Acquisions 1997-2001" El Paso Museum of Art 2003 "Early El Paso Women Artists"-Hal Marcus Gallery 2005 "Of This Vast State-Texas Women Artists 1900--1960"-Womens Museum Dallas, Texas. Collections: El Paso Museum of Art Centennial Museum UTEP Panhandle Plains Historical Museum UTEP Library Special Collections Women's Club of El Paso Capitol of Texas Historical Collection Publications: "Early El Paso Artists"by Carol Price " Dictionary of Texas Artists 1800-1945 by Paula L. and Michael R. Grauer “ Texas Painters, Sculptors and Graphic Artists" by John and Deborah Powers "Guide to Early El Paso Artists" by Carol Price Miller and Holly Cox |