Judd graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1938 and received a post-graduate scholarship to continue his studies at the Institute in 1939. From 1940 to 1942 Judd studied at the Colorado Spring Fine Arts Center under the center’s director, Boardman Robinson, and Texas artist, Otis Dozier. During World War II Judd served in the United States Army. His academic career as professor of painting, drawing, and design began in 1946 when he moved to Dallas to teach at Southern Methodist University and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. In 1967 Judd was promoted to full professor at SMU. He retired from the University in 1981. Judd continued to live in Dallas and devote his time to art until his death in 1992.
Judd’s work reflects his study of nature: mountains, lakes, rocks, flowers, cactus, Gulf Coast, and scenes of everyday life that were painted or drawn in a semi-abstract form that made bold use of color. Judd received numerous awards for his work, and while teaching at SMU his work was featured in many one-man shows in Texas including the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (1946), Southern Methodist University (1950, 1965, 1969, 1981), Elizabet Ney Museum (1952), Sul Ross State College (1957), Texas Tech Museum (1959), Fort Worth Art Center (1962), and the Beaumont Museum of Art (1971). His work was also exhibited in art centers and museum exhibitions around the country including the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(one of twelve artists selected for the exhibition
The Judd collection consists of four scrapbooks documenting his career from 1936 – 1990, one painting record notebook, nine sketchbooks, seven copper enameled pieces, three rocks from the artist’s studio in Dallas, one small wood sculpture by the artist, ten works of art on paper, and a small amount of archival material including clippings, correspondence, documents, photographs, publicity, and exhibition catalogs. The works of art on paper are representative of his career and consist of one pencil drawing, five watercolors, one blue ink sketch, and three lithographs.
The collection is organized alphabetically into 9 series:
This is one of the visual art collections in Bywaters Special Collections that concentrate on the art of Texas and the southwest. Related materials are located in the Jerry Bywaters Collection on Art of the Southwest in Bywaters Special Collections of the Hamon Arts Library of Southern Methodist University.
The
Collection is open for research use. Appointment with curatorial staff at Hamon Library is required.
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the staff of Jerry Bywaters Special Collections.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.
DeForrest Judd Collection, Bywaters Special Collections, Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University.
Gift, Mrs. Mary Belle Judd, 1993.
The DeForrest Judd papers were donated to Bywaters Special Collection in 1993 by his wife, Mrs. Mary Belle Judd.
The Judd papers were received in no discernable order. During processing, the sketchbooks and scrapbooks were placed in individual flat archival boxes, the copper enamels were placed flat inside individual compartments in an archival box, and the wood sculpture was placed in an archival box fitted for its size. The works on paper were conserved by a paper conservator, matted in archival mats, and housed in museum cases. The archival material was divided into separate archival files for clippings, correspondence, documents, publicity, and published works.
Conservation by Carrabba Conservation, Inc., Austin, Texas, 2001.
Works on paper matted by Ellen Buie Niewyk, 2001.
Leslie Sookma, 1994.
Ellen Buie Niewyk, 2008.
Lara Corazalla, 2008.
The artwork consists of one wood sculpture, seven copper enamel pieces, seven sketchbooks, and ten works on paper including one pencil sketch, one blue-ink sketch, five watercolors, and three lithographs. The seven sketchbooks are the primary focus of the artwork and the remaining items are representative of his art career.
See the related materials section above for a link to the DeForrest Judd Sketchbooks digital collection.
The Clippings contain 14 items from various publications including the
The Correspondence contains 2 letters; one letter to DeForrest Judd from Nancy R. Seibert at the Laguna Gloria Art Museum in Austin and one two-page illustrated letter to Mary Belle from DeForrest Judd.
The Documents contain 3 items including Judd’s two-page biography and a notebook labeled "Record of Paintings – 1946 –."
The Photography contains 5 photographs of the artist and one black and white negative of a painting.
The Publicity contains 8 items relating to Judd’s exhibition openings and painting workshops.
The Published Works contains 5 exhibition catalogues and one magazine. The exhibition catalogues have entries for Judd’s work. The magazine,
The Scrapbooks contain 4 scrapbooks organized by Judd and dated from 1936 – 1990. The scrapbooks contain valuable information regarding Judd’s education, awards and prizes, exhibitions, and newspaper clippings.
The Three-Dimensional items include 3 rocks collected by Judd and found in his studio in Dallas, Texas.