The worthy inaugural recipient will be art historian/scholar/lecturer David Brauer whose 36-year career teaching art history at the MFAH Museum School, now the Glassell School of Art, began in 1976, and spans — and impacted — several generations. In addition to the MFAH, Brauer taught art history at the University of Houston for 23 years, and continues as one of the most popular lecturers at the erudite Women’s Institute.
At the center of the Houston art world for nearly four decades, his students range from artists the Art Guys and Nestor Topchy to innumerable collectors. He enjoyed close friendships with major figures from The Menil Collection’s Dominique de Menil and Walter Hopps to seminal artists such as Dick Wray. Brauer, who graduated from St. Martin’s London during the heady ’60s, intersecting with leading British artists of the day, including pop pioneer Richard Hamilton as well as Clive Barker and Derek Boshier. Traversing the British Pop scene — and the co-curator of the seminal 2001 Menil show “Pop Art: U.S./U.K. Connections: 1956 – 1966″ as well as co-author of its accompanying volume — Brauer has been at the right place and right time in his hometown London and his adopted city Houston to witness two great eras in art history, the birth of Pop and the explosion of Houston’s contemporary action.
Brauer’s tantalizing knowledge and insider insights will be explored onstage at the Fair during a Q&A conducted by former student PaperCity‘s Catherine D. Anspon. Catherine Anspon is also the author of the recently published, “Texas Artist Today”.