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Night Heron
David Bates
David Bates, American, born 1952
1986, Oil on canvas, 96 x 78 inches
Collection of Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum Purchase,
The Benjamin J. Tillar Memorial Trust
About the Artist
David Bates was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1952. He graduated
from Southern Methodist University in 1975. While teaching
part-time at Eastfield College, he began work on his Master
of Fine Arts degree in 1976 at SMU. That same year, he had
his first one-man gallery exhibition, and in the fall, he
was chosen to participate in an independent study program
at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
During his time in New York, he was exposed to many personalities,
influences, and works of art. At that time, his unique style
of figure painting and sculpture was not appreciated by
the New York art world, so he experimented with a variety
of styles and media. He returned to Dallas in 1977 and completed
his graduate degree at SMU. He studied several periods of
art history as a part of his program and renewed a lifelong
interest in folk art. He admired the folk artists subject
matter drawn from everyday life and surroundings.
Bates first visited Grassy Lake in southwestern Arkansas
in 1982. This place immediately began to influence his art.
About the Art
Night Heron gives the viewer a representation of the vegetation
of a swampy area and one of the birds that lives in that
place. As we look for a broader meaning for this painting,
we might consider what the heron, his survival by means
of searching for prey, and the abundant vegetation of the
place in which he lives can represent to the viewer. The
struggle for survival in nature is a story with which humans
have always been concerned. As we view this elegant bird,
we are reminded of the cycles and systems of the natural
world of which we humans are also a part.
Night Heron is one of many paintings done by David Bates
that focuses on the life of Grassy Lake and other swamps
and lakes of Arkansas, Louisiana, and east Texas. Bates
is a fisherman and hunter, and the dense vegetation, the
shifting light, and the life-and-death struggle evident
in these areas captured his imagination.
Additional Information
The bird in Night Heron is from a family of graceful birds
with long, sharply pointed bills that extend almost to their
eyes. They are similar to cranes in appearance with narrow
heads, long slender necks and storklike legs. Herons usually
nest and roost in flocks, but they hunt for their food alone.
Their nests, built of loose, crude masses of sticks, are
found close together in rookeries called heronries. The
female lays from three to six eggs, and young herons are
helpless for a few weeks before they learn to fly. To search
for food, herons stalk along the shores of streams. Sometimes,
they stand for a long time with their head drawn between
their shoulders as if asleep, while they wait for fish,
frogs, or small reptiles. When the heron spots its prey,
it makes a lightning dart to catch the victim in its spearlike
beak.
About the Time and Place
Bates work has been described as a form of Regionalism because
his works are often about specific geographical and cultural
subjects. His paintings of the people, the landscapes, and
the activities of these places are done with warmth, good
humor, and enthusiasm. He has also done paintings of snakes,
fish, alligators, and dogs. David Bates likes dogs. He did
a very affectionate portrait of his own dog, Emmy.
The everchanging light, water, trees, and wildlife of the
lakes of Arkansas and east Texas fascinated David Bates,
and even as he returned to see familiar subjects and sites,
each experience was a fresh one. Speaking about this series
of works, Bates says:
"My work in the last few years has been a process
of allowing myself to paint subjects that I really cared
about - finding my own place that is special to me. My Grassy
Lake pictures are more than a series of paintings for me.
They represent the ongoing life of an ancient lake swamp
in which I am privileged to participate."
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