Winner of Border Regional Library Association Southwest Book Award
Tom Lea, internationally known artist and author, in early 1994 recorded a series of interviews with Adair Margo for the University of Texas at El Paso's Institute of Oral History. In the spring, a retrospective exhibition on his art work was held at the El Paso Museum of Art, UTEP's Centennial Museum, and the Adair Margo Gallery.
This book, developed from the interviews and illustrated by exhibition pieces and photos from Lea's personal collection, serves as Lea's autobiography.
Born in El Paso in 1907, Lea was the son and namesake of the city's mayor. In the early days of World War II, he became a war correspondent for Life magazine, executing paintings of action in the North Atlantic, the South Pacific, China, North Africa, and Europe. Lea's career thereafter involved both painting and writing, on a variety of subjects but generally reflective of his roots in the Southwest. He has won recognition in both fields and his art work is in permanent collections nationwide. Lea's brief autobiography, A Picture Gallery (Little, Brown, 1968), has been out of print for many years. This new book is the first extensive autobiography with the retrospective exhibition pieces spanning his career.
Craver is the director of the Institute of Oral History at UTEP, and Adair Margo, a lifelong friend of Tom Lea, owns and operates the Adair Margo Gallery in El Paso.
ISBN 0-87404-234-8, cloth, $50.00
8x11, 185 pg., photos, b&w and color illus. appendices, biblio.
Also available: slipcased, hand numbered, limited edition of 150, signed by Tom Lea, Rebecca Craver, and Adair Margo. $150.00, no return, prepaid
To order, write: Texas Western Press, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968-0633---or use the Texas Western Press toll-free number (for ordering only): (800) 488-3789---or order by e-mail