Grant Macdonald (1944- ) Kerrville Artist

A painter of Texas landscape and wildlife in "interpretive realism," Grant Macdonald was born in Leesburg, Virginia in 1944 and lives in New Mexico. Raised in Baird, Texas, he began to draw at age six and took private instruction while in grade school. After completing his secondary education in Virginia, Macdonald received his BFA from the University of Mississippi in 1966. He served as an officer in the Air Force until 1970, and after that received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1971 Macdonald moved to Kerrville in the Texas Hill Country where he gained widespread recognition for his landscapes and wildlife art. His long-time interest in the human form found new expression in his portrayals of contemporary ranch life. Since moving to northern New Mexico the focus of his work has shifted toward the subjects offered by that region.

More recently MacDonald has expanded his range of subject matter to include places he and his wife love to explore, such as the coast of New England and the cities and countryside of France. He has participated in several major exhibitions, including the American Art Classic and the Western Heritage Sale in Houston, the Collector's Sale in Dallas, and major auctions in Santa Fe. He has had several feature articles published about his art in major publications, including Southwest Art in 1972 and 1992 and Art of the West in 1990.

Artist Statement:

"What I seek to portray in my art is not so much what people see but what they remember about a place. I am a realist, but I'm not attempting simply to document nature. I try to identify the essential qualities that elicit an emotional response and communicate hat response through my work."?
Also, my long-time interest in the human form has found new expression in my portrayals of contemporary ranch life.I believe the viewer brings his own experience and ?imagination to a painting, but an artist should not depend on his viewer. An artist should also be a craftsman. He must have mastered technical skills. An untrained child wildly banding on a piano is expressing himself, but we would hardly call him a musician. The same standard should apply to artist.

Source:

Vintage Texas Paintings website
Submitted by: Ande Rasmussen

A painter of Texas landscape and wildlife in "interpretive realism," Grant Macdonald was born in Leesburg, Virginia in 1944 and lives in New Mexico. Raised in Baird, Texas, he began to draw at age six and took private instruction while in grade school. After completing his secondary education in Virginia, Macdonald received his BFA from the University of Mississippi in 1966. He served as an officer in the Air Force until 1970, and after that received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1971 Macdonald moved to Kerrville in the Texas Hill Country where he gained widespread recognition for his landscapes and wildlife art. His long-time interest in the human form found new expression in his portrayals of contemporary ranch life. Since moving to northern New Mexico the focus of his work has shifted toward the subjects offered by that region.

More recently MacDonald has expanded his range of subject matter to include places he and his wife love to explore, such as the coast of New England and the cities and countryside of France. He has participated in several major exhibitions, including the American Art Classic and the Western Heritage Sale in Houston, the Collector's Sale in Dallas, and major auctions in Santa Fe. He has had several feature articles published about his art in major publications, including Southwest Art in 1972 and 1992 and Art of the West in 1990.

"What I seek to portray in my art is not so much what people see but what they remember about a place. I am a realist, but I'm not attempting simply to document nature. I try to identify the essential qualities that elicit an emotional response and communicate hat response through my work."

A painter of the Texas landscape and wildlife in "interpretive realism," born in Leesburg, Virginia in 1944 and living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. "Some people regard artists," he points out, "as nothing more than a reflection of contemporary society, for better or worse. They seem to think that when society catches a cold, the function of the artist is to sneeze, frame his handkerchief, and call it art.Raised in Baird, Texas, he began to draw at six and took private instruction while in grade school.

After completing his secondary education in Virginia, Grant MacDonald received his BFA from the University of Mississippi in 1966, served as an officer in the Air Force until 1970, and settled in Kerrville to paint. The "primary interest was portraiture, but my move to the Texas Hill County resulted in a new awareness of landscape and wildlife which is abundant here. Also, my long-time interest in the human form has found new expression in my portrayals of contemporary ranch life."

"I believe the viewer brings his own experience and imagination to a painting, but an artist should not depend on his viewer. An artist should also be a craftsman. He must have mastered technical skills. An untrained child wildly banding on a piano is expressing himself, but we would hardly call him a musician. The same standard should apply to artist.

Source:
Contemporary Western Artists by Peggy and Harold Samuels

Grant MacDonald was a Texas artist who exhibited in the 1970s in San Antonio at the Wonderland Gallery alongside Jose Vives-Atsara, Porfirio Salinas, Don Warren, and more.