ROCKPORT, Tx — On Thursday, Jan. 30, the Aransas County Historical Commission honored the late Simon Michael with a historical marker at the location of his former art studio.
“He wasn’t just an influential figure in Rockport’s history, but in the history of Texas art,” Kay Betz, a member of the Rockport-Fulton Art Colony told KRIS 6 News. Michael was the founder of the Art Colony, as well as the man responsible for the art community Rockport knows today.
Michael moved to Rockport in 1948. He began teaching art at a time when formal instruction in the subject was rare in small-town Texas.
“People became more and more interested in art, and he developed what became known as the art colony,” said Pam Stranahan, a founding member of the Rockport History Center and Historical Commission member said
Michael’s work quickly attracted artists from across Texas and beyond, many of whom studied under him and went on to establish the Rockport Art Association, which later became the Rockport Center for the Arts.
“A lot of his students who came to study with him eventually started the Rockport Art Association, which became the Rockport Center for the Arts, a very robust 50-year institution still going with a major new building,” Betz explained.
Michael's influence extended beyond Rockport, as he traveled across the state, teaching and promoting the Texas Gulf Coast aesthetic. Even building dorm rooms and studios that would go on to be used by thousands of students.
“By doing that, he really brought a lot of people in here and was able to live his life out there after he stopped being an itinerant teacher,” Stranahan said.
According to Betz, one of Michael's most famous students was Dalhart Windberg. Windberg became widely recognized for his ability to create luminous, glowing effects in his oil paintings.
For those interested in learning more about Simon Michael and his impact, the History Center of Aransas County offers resources and to catch a glimpse at some of the tools used by Michael's himself.
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