In 1956, the First National Bank commissioned local artist (and member of the Fort Worth Circle) Bror Utter to do a series of watercolor paintings of Fort Worth landmark architecture. Utter worked with bank vice president (and long-time fan) Sam Cantey III to select the structures to be painted, and began painting the first - the old Fort Worth Star-Telegram Building on 8th Street - only days away from the building’s demolition. After Utter completed his works (originally 15 in the commissioned series), the paintings were placed on display in the First National Bank lobby. They proved to be so popular, that the bank sent them on a two-year exhibition tour across twelve Texas cities.
The paintings stayed with First National for many years, finally winding up in the lobby of 500 West 7th, the Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill office tower next to the Electric Building at Burnett Park (Map). When 500 West 7th was purchased by a local Fort Worth group, the paintings were gifted to the Amon Carter Museum (who then created reproductions for the lobby of 500 West 7th to maintain the tradition), and are now on display in the exhibition Fort Worth Landmarks in the 1950s: Watercolors by Bror Utter, which runs through June 15th (admission is free).
The exhibit is fascinating, and the works are wonderful. Rather than talk more about the paintings’ history, though, I thought I’d take a selection of the works and talk a bit about them, and encourage you to head to the Carter to see the whole thing. So, let’s begin, shall we?
Bror Utter, Palatine Hill
Before we head into the Fort Worth Landmarks series, let’s take a look at an Utter painting that isn’t of Fort Worth, but showcases many elements that would be used in the series. At one point, Utter traveled to Europe, and became fascinated by the architecture of Rome. Palatine Hill explores the classical architecture of that city, and shows the beginnings of the technique Bror would later refine in the Fort Worth Landmarks series. His style when painting architecture became to abstract the sky and surroundings, making the building and its architecture the focal point of the work. Palatine Hill shows this technique well, in addition to Bror’s talent for capturing the details of his subjects.
Bror Utter, Old Post Office (and John Peter Smith Memorial Monument), July 1956
Painted in July 1956, Old Post Office (and John Peter Smith Memorial Monument) showcases a view that only partially remains. The John Peter Smith Memorial still stands alongside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but the beautiful Old Post Office was demolished in the ’70s to build the horrifically ugly new City Hall building that sits on the site today. As can be seen in this public domain photo of the building from the early 1900s, Bror captured the building very well, showcasing the elegant spires and facade detail.
Sadly, a great many of Bror’s subjects have been demolished. As another example…
Bror Utter, First Presbyterian Church, Feb. 1957
Bror’s painting of the First Presbyterian Church depicts the old First Presbyterian, which was located at Fourth & Calhoun downtown (Map). This elegant church, primarily of buff brick, was demolished in the ’60s after First Presbyterian moved to their current digs on the Upper West Side at Penn Street. It lived out its remaining years as a tire storage warehouse, of all things. Today, this intersection is surrounded by a Bass parking garage, the Maddox Muse Center, Ferre Restaurant/Barnes & Noble Block, and the Bass Performance Hall.
Bror Utter, Star-Telegram Building, 1957
Continuing the demolition revue is Bror’s depiction of the old Star-Telegram Building, located at 8th & Throckmorton (Map). The old Star-Telegram Building was built in 1904, and was of similar style to the much smaller Atelier Building across the street, which still stands. What’s particularly interesting about this piece is the way the abstracted sky bleeds down into the building on the right. The explanation lies in the fact that the building was actually in the process of being demolished when Bror was doing his painting. In fact, demolition work halted for about two days at one point, just so Bror could get some of the necessary detail captured. The sky interacting with the building was Bror’s way of showing the damage that had already been done when he was painting.
Again, looking at this public domain photo of the building, one can see how Bror really captured the essence of the structure.
Today, this site is a parking lot owned by XTO Energy. In most cases, when Bror’s subjects were demolished, photographic evidence remained of the buildings as well. In one case, though, Bror’s painting is the sole image that remains.
Bror Utter, Martin Casey Building, March 1957
The Martin Casey Building apparently stood at the intersection of (the old, narrower, pre-interstate overpass) Lancaster Avenue and Houston Street (Map). It appears to have been a very interesting building - buff brick and stone, with a very glassy facade for its time. The front facade here seems to have faced Houston.
The Martin Casey Building was demolished sometime after Bror painted this, and this painting is the sole image that has been found of the building. No photographs appear to exist that depict the building. The Carter has asked that if anybody out there has a photograph of the Martin Casey Building, please contact the museum. I’d like to know, as well - so contact me, too. :)
Bror Utter, Robert D. Hunter Home, 1957
Two of the paintings in the museum’s exhibition were not part of the original run of 15 made for First National, and this is one of them. The Robert D. Hunter Home stood on Quality Hill, a neighborhood of grand Victorian mansions on downtown’s Upper West Side. Quality Hill represents one of the greatest architectural losses suffered by the city of Fort Worth - all but two of the homes that used to make up this neighborhood have been demolished. The remaining homes are the Pollack-Capps House, now offices, and the Ball-Eddleman-McFarland House (Map), now the home of Historic Fort Worth. The Robert D. Hunter Home was of similar grandeur to the two remaining homes on the hill. A medical office building now stands on this site.
This painting apparently was supposed to be part of the original exhibition, but for whatever reason (perhaps because the owner of the home at the time had been involved in two bank ventures that had failed), it was pulled at the last minute and replaced with a painting of the old downtown train station (now the Ashton Depot).
Now, I know this hasn’t been a particularly uplifting post from a preservation standpoint. Truth is, most of the buildings Bror painted in the ’50s have been demolished. A few still stand, however, and here’s one of them:
Bror Utter, Land Title Block, 1957
Bror’s painting of the 1889 Land Title Block (Map) exquisitely captures the intricate detailing of this beautiful Victorian structure. Bror even captured the initials of the building’s original tenants carved into the stone on the right above the second floor. What’s especially interesting about the painting is that it’s one of the few times Bror depicted something significant in the background in the building’s context, and for good reason - the red & white tower on the left is the Burk Burnett Building (Map), Fort Worth’s first real skyscraper from 1914. The view of the two gorgeous buildings together is a classic Fort Worth scene, and Bror captured them both to preserve this iconic image, not knowing if it would be there in the future.
Fortunately, both the Burk Burnett and the Land Title Block are still with us (the Burk Burnett is, as always, office space, with a Worthington bank on the ground floor; the Land Title Block was beautifully restored and converted into the Flying Saucer Pub). So, as can be seen in this Google Street View image, the lovely composition of the two buildings together still exists.
There’s still lots left to discover at the Amon Carter Museum’s exhibition of Bror’s work. Fort Worth Landmarks in the 1950s: Watercolors by Bror Utter runs through June 15th. Admission is free. You can see more of Bror’s work, along with works from the other members of the Fort Worth Circle, in the exhibition Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s, which runs through May 11th.
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