Behind The Lines: The Art of Texas Monthly : The Wittliff Collections

Exhibit dates: Now through Dec. 8th, 2023

The first issue of Texas Monthly hit newsstands in February 1973 with the aim of elevating Texas culture and politics to the level of places like New York and California. Few people expected it to last a year — much less fifty. Yet, with its acclaimed longform articles, insightful deep dives into the nuances of Texas politics, and the celebration of what makes Texas unique, the magazine became an overwhelming success.

Texas Monthly is often – and rightfully, called a writer’s magazine, yet its Art Department has been equally groundbreaking, shaping the way that we see Texas. Through editorial cartoons that lampoon politics, to photographic essays that highlight the unhoused population of downtown Houston, along with striking portraits of people who make Texas what it is, Texas Monthly art editors, illustrators, and photographers gave the world a look into the “real Texas.”

This exhibition title, Behind the Lines, is a nod to the editor’s column that told the stories behind the stories and allowed readers a glimpse of the editorial process. Our intent is to do the same with the magazine’s art production, highlighting original artwork and archival photographs found in Texas Monthly’s archive, and also featuring portrait photography published over the fifty-year run of Texas Monthly.

List of Illustrators:

Behind The Lines: The Art of Texas Monthly

Gallery