If you haven’t already heard, 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Fort Griffin on the Texas frontier. For those of you celebrating this milestone, you’ll also want to make a special trip 15 miles south to the OJAC to view our most recent acquisition, Nocturnal (Ruins of Old Fort Griffin) by Charles Peter Bock.
This rare work depicts the ruins of Fort Griffin, located just north of Albany, Texas. In August and September of 1908, Bock, and fellow artist Frank Reaugh, went on a “sketching trip” from Dallas to West Texas traveling by covered wagon and this painting is a result of that excursion. The finished oil on canvas was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in December of the following year. Nocturnal (Ruins of Old Fort Griffin) depicts one of the structures at sunset or early dark—a personal favorite time of day for Bock and Reaugh.
This new OJAC acquisition is now on view in the Nail Gallery.
-Amy Kelly, Registrar
Image Credit:
Nocturnal (Ruins of Old Fort Griffin), c. 1908
CHARLES PETER BOCK
American (1872-1952)
Oil on canvas
Museum purchase through funds provided by Shirley Caldwell in honor of Clifton Caldwell, her husband of 59 years
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