Amon Carter Museum of American Art Establishes Gentling Study Center

The Center Supports the Acquisition, Research, and Conservation of the Work and Archives of
20th-Century Artists Scott G. and Stuart W. Gentling

Fort Worth, TX, August 7, 2019 — The Amon Carter Museum of American Art announces the
establishment of the Gentling Study Center to enhance the recognition of two of Fort Worth’s most
notable artists, brothers Scott G. Gentling and Stuart W. Gentling. The Center will secure the Gentlings’
rightful place among the foremost American painters of the last half of the twentieth century, creating an
accessible resource where scholars and the general public alike will be able to experience, research and
enjoy their contributions to the field. It is envisioned that the Carter will become the repository for many
of the Gentlings’ finest works. The Center will be housed in a new collections Study Room alongside the
museum’s esteemed research library, and will be managed by a dedicated curator who will oversee its
fellowship, publication, acquisition, and exhibition programs. The new initiative complements the
museum’s major collection of artist archives, advancing the Carter as a premier research institution in the
field of American art.

“Through recent significant gifts, the museum is delighted to more fully engage our audiences with the
close study of the Gentlings’ legacy and demonstrate our commitment to overlooked artists,” said Andrew
J. Walker, Executive Director.

In conjunction with the Gentling Study Center, the Carter has established an endowed yearly fellowship
to support intensive ongoing research and scholarship, drawing upon the museum’s deep monographic
resources within the library, archives, and art collections. To promote access to these materials for both
scholars and the public, the museum will open the new Study Room in September 2019.

The Center is the result of several major gifts. In 2015, Suzanne Gentling, executor of the Gentling’s
estate, placed the brothers’ personal papers and diaries at the museum to establish an archive.
Recognizing her gift, and committed to cooperation across the Cultural District , the Fort Worth Museum
of Science and History (FWMSH) subsequently transferred to the Carter its historical collection of
paintings, drawings, and study material related to the Gentlings’ most famous project: Of Birds and
Texas. In addition, major support from Edward P. Bass, whose vision and leadership inspired the
founding of the Center, allowed the Carter to acquire a significant collection of Gentling artworks from
the estate and to establish endowments to support the Center’s mission.

“I don’t know what Stuart and Scott are working on these days, wherever they are, but I’m certain that
they’re as honored and excited as I am that their archive has found its new home here at the Amon Carter
Museum in their beloved Fort Worth, and that their work will serve as a genesis for the preservation and
research of other artists’ archives in the future. None of this would have been possible without the vision
and support of Ed Bass and all of the museum staff who have contributed to this project. I’m very
grateful,” stated Suzanne Gentling.

Van Romans, President of FWMSH, commented, “This consolidation of Gentling materials at the Carter
marks a significant day for Fort Worth and is the embodiment of the Cultural District’s unique
collaborative spirit that enhances our community with extraordinary national treasures.”

The Gentlings’ forty original bird paintings and associated preparatory material from the portfolio Of
Birds and Texas will be on view at the Carter in two focused exhibitions in September and December
2019. A comprehensive career retrospective on the Gentlings is planned for mid-2021. An accompanying
publication, the first major monograph on the artists, will engage eminent scholars to explore the
brothers’ place within the larger national art canon. In future years, the Center will support ongoing
programming of other important monographic and archival collections at the museum, with a focus on
advancing the rich legacies of underappreciated artists.

Individuals with Gentling work in their private collections are encouraged to contact Gentling Curator
Jonathan Frembling or Gentling Curatorial Assistant Janelle Montgomery via email at
Gentling@cartermuseum.org to have their objects documented in the artists’ raisonné.

About Scott G. and Stuart W. Gentling

Born in Rochester, Minnesota, Scott (1942–2011) and Stuart Gentling (1942–2006) moved to Fort Worth
at the age of five. Their creative collaboration began in childhood and continued throughout their lives.
An early interest in the work of naturalist John James Audubon ultimately inspired their Of Birds and
Texas project. The Gentling brothers’ keen powers of observation evolved into a painting style rooted in
naturalism yet imbued with romantic realism. Dedicating years of study to the subjects they depicted,
whether it was the birds of Texas or scenes of Tenochtitlán (today’s Mexico City), the artists explored
themes in series that functioned as visual metaphors for the passage of time. In the late 1990s, Scott and
Stuart were commissioned to design the murals in Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth, and
in 2001 Scott painted the official gubernatorial portrait of George W. Bush.

Images: Scott Gentling (1942–2011), Stuart Gentling (1942–2006), Purple Gallinule, 1982–85, graphite, opaque and transparent
watercolor, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Gift of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History;
Unknown Photographer, [Scott and Stuart Gentling], ca. 1975, photograph, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth,
Texas, Gift of the Gentling Family; Scott (1942–2011) and Stuart (1942–2006) Gentling, Beethoven, date unknown, graphite on
paper, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas

About the Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson (1906–2005), the Amon Carter opened in 1961 and
houses a preeminent collection of American art including painting, photographs, sculpture and works on
paper. The paintings collection spans early 19th-century expeditionary art to mid-20th-century modernism
and includes masterworks by artists such as Frederic Church, Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Thomas Eakins,
Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe and John Singer Sargent. The museum is one of the nation’s major
repositories of American photography from the 19th century to the present and holds the archives of
luminaries such as Laura Gilpin, Eliot Porter and Karl Struss. It is also home to nearly 400 works by
Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, the two greatest artists of the American West. Admission is
free. Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday
12–5 p.m. Closed Mondays and select holidays. @theamoncarter

CONTACT:
Kimberly Daniell
Head of Communications and Marketing
817.989.5067
kimberly.daniell@cartermuseum.com