The following information is from the obituary of the artist, and is submitted by Stephanie Reeves:

The Dallas Morning News-January 20, 1999

Author: Joe Simnacher, Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News

Dan C. Wingren's unassuming and private nature made him much less well known than scores of lesser artists, friends say.

Mr. Wingren, 75, died Dec. 31 of cancer at a Dallas convalescence facility. Friends are planning a gathering in his memory at a later date.

The former Southern Methodist University art professor's mild demeanor, however, was a plus to scores of his students, said Dr. William Jordan, former chairman of the SMU division of fine arts.

"It's an amazing case because I rank Dan as one of the most sophisticated, subtle minds in the art world that I have ever known," Dr. Jordan said.

Dr. Jordan has a good perspective to rank his friend's talent. After leaving SMU in 1981, he spent nine years as deputy director of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. More recently he has worked as an art consultant.

"I've known a lot of people, and I would rank him way up there near the top," Dr. Jordan said. "At the same time, he was this totally unassuming, very hermitic person."

Mr. Wingren was at SMU from 1959 to 1991. Dr. Jordan named him his
assistant at SMU after noticing the quality of his art and teaching.

"He particularly helped with the studio side of the department's activity," Dr. Jordan said.

Not well known outside the university, Mr. Wingren had paintings in private and corporate collections as well as museums throughout Texas, including the Dallas Art Museum. But, he didn't have the drive to become known for his work.

"He was not an ambitious person," Dr. Jordan said. "He was just boundlessly generous with his time for his students."

Mr. Wingren's relationship with his students took the place of the gratification of fame and recognition, Dr. Jordan said.

"This kind of teacher in today's academic world is extremely rare," Dr. Jordan said. "There are countless students who came out of SMU . . . who owe a tremendous amount to Dan Wingren."

Dallas artist David Bates, a former Wingren student who has recently gained national recognition, said his former professor will be sorely missed.

"He was a great intellect and an inspiring teacher," Mr. Bates said. "He had this great contagious smile and a sense of humor to go with it. . . . all that together is a tough combination to find."

Mr. Wingren, who was born in Dallas, served in the Army during World War II.

He earned his bachelor's degree at SMU and a master's of fine arts degree from the University of Iowa.

Mr. Wingren is survived by his longtime friend, Hal Corry of Dallas.

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights

• 1923, Born in Dallas, Texas

• Served in U.S. Army during WWII

• B.A., Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

• M.F.A., University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

• Serves in U.S. Army in World War II

• 1953, Receives Pearl Brewery Award for Solar Eclipse, Texas Watercolor Society Circuit Exhibition

• 1959-81, Professor of Art, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

• 1981-90, Deputy Director, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

• Works as an art consultant

• 1999, Dies in Dallas, Texas


Selected Exhibitions

• 1948, 1st Southwestern Print Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

• 1948, 10th Annual Texas General Exhibition

• 1953, Texas Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

• 1954, 16th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

• 1956, 6th Southwestern Exhibition of Prints and Drawings, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

• 1958, Dan Wingren: Paintings, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

• 1959, Made in Texas by Texans, Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts; Sheraton Dallas Hotel, Dallas, Texas

• 1963, Gallery Gardens, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas


Selected Public Collections

Dallas Museum of Art

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburg, Carnegie Institute

Dan Wingren was an artist and teacher active in Texas beginning in the 1940s as a student at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. After graduate school at the University of Iowa, he came back to Texas where he accepted art-related appointments in Austin and San Antonio before returning to Dallas in the 1960s.

Primarily known as a painter, Wingren was both a popular and admired professor of art at SMU where he taught several subjects including 19th and 20th century art history, contemporary art, design, drawing, and painting. His archive are housed at SMU, consisting of Wingren's figure drawings and a sketchbook from his tour to France and Italy in the mid-1950s, his class lecture notebooks, and his manuscript, Design and the Visual Image.