Fort Worth Circle

The Fort Worth Circle was a progressive art colony in Fort Worth, Texas. The colony was active during the 1940s and much of the 1950s and formed around younger artists, most of them native Texans under-30, who embraced themes not traditionally seen in Texas art up to that time. Through exhibitions and modest publicity these artists built statewide reputations during and after World War II as proponents of modern art. Social compatibility and shared affinities for modern art and classical music provided common ground among members of the circle and contributed to the group's cohesion. Within the circle's original membership, male and female artists were almost equally represented.

After World War II the Fort Worth Circle's influence expanded as younger artists became associated with the group and older members who no longer lived in Fort Worth retained their ties. Additionally, at the conclusion of World War II the ranks of Fort Worth's art community swelled with the return of artists who had served in the military. Some of these returning artists also became identified with the Fort Worth Circle. Membership changed over time, but the "backbone" of the colony consisted of Bill Bomar, Cynthia Brants, Veronica Helfensteller, Dickson Reeder, Flora Blanc Reeder, and Bror Utter.

The colony's presence was acknowledged by Dallas newspaper critic John Rosenfield in 1948 when he observed that a "school" of modern artists was at work in neighboring Fort Worth. Based on Rosenfield's characterization, the colony was long referred to by local residents as the Fort Worth School. Over time, "Fort Worth Circle" has replaced "Fort Worth School" as a more accurate summation of the colony's true nature.

In its earliest incarnation, the Fort Worth Circle consisted of seven men and women who had known each other since public school days or as students at the Fort Worth School of Fine Arts, a local art academy founded in 1932. As enrollees at the Fort Worth School of Fine Arts, Lia Cuilty, Veronica Helfensteller, Marjorie Johnson, Sara Shannon and Bror Utter first met and exhibited together in the 1930s. Dickson Reeder and Bror Utter attended Fort Worth Central High School together in the late 1920s. As youngsters, Bill Bomar, Veronica Helfensteller and Dickson Reeder took private art lessons from the same teacher, Mrs. Sallie Blyth Mummert.

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