Bud Biggs: 12 Watercolors of Dallas — ca. 1955
by Paula Bosse
“Aerial View of Downtown Dallas” by Bud Biggs
by Paula Bosse
Back in 2018 I posted Christmas-themed magazine cover art by Dallas artist/illustrator Bud Biggs — it was one of my favorite images posted that year (see the post here). I knew that it had been one of the 12 monthly covers by Biggs used in 1956 for Dallas magazine, the Dallas Chamber of Commerce publication. Since then, I’ve managed to turn up all 12 watercolors. Some of them are going to look a little wonky with unfortunate glare patches — this is because I was unable to photograph them lying flat. I’ve done my best! I’ve paired them with the titles which were printed in the Dallas Morning News — I hope I’ve gotten the right titles with the right paintings.
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Above, “Aerial View of Downtown Dallas” by Bud Biggs (this painting appeared on the cover of the January, 1956 issue of Dallas magazine).
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Below, “The Katy Round House” by Bud Biggs (February, 1956 cover)
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“Looking Up Pacific” by Bud Biggs (March, 1956 cover)
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“Ervay Street” by Bud Biggs (April, 1956 cover)
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“Ground-breaking, Dallas University” by Bud Biggs (May, 1956 cover)
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“Commerce Street” by Bud Biggs (June, 1956 cover)
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“SMU Legal Center” by Bud Biggs (July, 1956 cover)
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“Central Expressway” by Bud Biggs (August, 1956 cover)
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“Midway, State Fair of Texas” by Bud Biggs (September, 1956 cover)
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“Trinity Industrial District” by Bud Biggs (October, 1956 cover)
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“City Auditorium” by Bud Biggs (November, 1956 cover) — sadly, I was unable to find this one in color.
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“Main Street, Christmas Night” by Bud Biggs (used for the cover of the December, 1956 issue of Dallas and for the cover of the Christmas, 1959 issue of the Shamrock Oil & Gas publication, The Shamrock)
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This series of 12 paintings won the “Best Covers of 1956” award from the American Association of Commerce Publications, and in 1958 all 12 of the original watercolors were purchased by Southwest Airmotive Company to be displayed in their new Love Field terminal. I have no idea where these paintings are today. I love them.
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Dallas native Bancroft Putnam “Bud” Biggs (1906-1985) attended Forest Ave. High School, SMU, and the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. He was primarily a commercial artist, working for Dallas artist Guy Cahoon before opening his own advertising studio. He produced fine art as well, specializing in watercolors, and was a respected art instructor. Below is an ad placed in the publication La Fiesta of Art (1957) to coincide with an art show in Highland Park Village. He is seen sitting at an easel. I had never heard of Bud Biggs before that Christmas post in 2018 — someone needs to round up his works and publish them!
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Sources & Notes
Information on the 12 paintings is from the Dallas Morning News article “Art & Artists: Biggs Series Bought by Firm” by Rual Askew, Feb. 20, 1958.
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Copyright © 2022 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
[…] UPDATE: I’ve found the other 11 paintings. See them in the Flashback Dallas post “Bud Biggs: 12 Watercolors of Dallas — ca. 1955.” […]
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This is wonderful. You are right that someone needs to publish these! Thank you. Patsy Caropresi
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These are cool!
The Dallas Magazine series was on display at Southwest Airmotive until at least 1973 and the building where the paintings were displayed is still there at 7515 Lemmon. A number of mergers, acquisitions and buy outs started around 1973 which led to Signature Flight Support occupying the building since 1997. I would imagine the artwork got replaced during one of the corporate transitions. Unless the art was deemed valuable, some employees may have just taken them home and they may be very hard to track down now.
I think at the bottom of “Looking Up Pacific” is the under construction Dallas Federal Savings building (now just called 1505 Elm) which opened in 1957. The artist’s view was probably from the Rio Grande National Life building which was where Renaissance Tower is now.
On the right side of “Ervay Street” I think the building under construction is the Mercantile Commerce Building which opened as the Vaughn building in 1957. An 8 floor addition was completed to the building in 1960. I am not sure how the artist got that elevated view from what seems like the middle of Ervay.
The reference for the “Aerial View of Downtown Dallas” may have been a Squire Haskins aerial like this one:
https://library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/img/10005410
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Thanks!
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Paula,
You have once again given me goosebumps. Bud and Maggie Biggs were friends of my parents. I knew he was an artist because we had several of his watercolors on the walls of the living room on Pinocchio (Disney Streets). I’m guessing my Grandad’s printing company (Johnston’s) did all the Chamber of Commerce jobs back then. The ones we grew up with were more of his “weathered barn, rusty plow” genre. These covers are a different thing entirely. I love “Central Expressway”. The Meadows Building has been one of my favorites since it was built. I also love how bucolic the other side of Central looks.
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Great comment, Victoria. Thanks!
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Circa 1960 Meadows Bldg had a multistory garage, circular driveway connecting thr floors, smooth concrete. Evenings and weekends we took our first-edition skinny skateboards over there for great fun. No fractured skulls or broken bones but it was a bit dangerous.
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Wow, these really are great! Thanks for finding them.
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I just inherited two Bud Briggs framed signed watercolors. One of some Texas wildflowers and the other of the Alamo. Love to see you do a series on some of his Texas art!
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