September 17, 2010

vigilance

Women artists in Lubbock (like me) may not have heard of Bess Bigham Hubbard but she was a trailblazer for the arts in Lubbock. At the peak of her career in 1959, she designed this marker to stand over the graves of her husband and sister, buried in the City of Lubbock Cemetery. Bess Bigham was born February 18, 1896 in Fort Worth and attended TCU. She visited Lubbock in 1916 and met Chester Hubbard, a farmer and car dealer. They married and made Lubbock their home. Bess took up art as a hobby in 1925 and studied with noted artists of the time. In a short time her art hobby had become a career. During the 1940s, she used Taos Indians as models for her impressionistic-styled sculptures. By the 1950s she had international recognition, exhibited regularly at the Texas State Fair and was featured in the April 29, 1957 issue of Life magazine. After years of poor health, Bess died March 23, 1977 and is buried in the Hubbard plot.