James Ferdinand McCan: Painting a Historical Portrait of Texas, 1895-1925

The recent rediscovery of the art of James Ferdinand McCan tells the story of the people, landscape, wildlife, and livestock of Texas at beginning of the twentieth century. McCan, an Irish immigrant, was popular with art enthusiasts in a rapidly changing Texas, but, to date, his works remain in private homes. He saw Texas through the eyes of a non-native explorer as if he was making a great discovery about the unique beauty of the terrain, people, and creatures great and small. In collaboration with his first major art exhibition at the Witte Museum, James Ferdinand McCan: Painting a Historical Portrait of Texas, 1895-1925 reveals McCan’s observations as he illustrated the beauty of his adopted region just as Texas art began to surge in popularity.