Virgie Claxton (Am. 1876-1953), Still Life, oil on canvas

Still Life, oil on canvas, 30 x 25, signed lower right: Virgie Claxton, Claxton was a native of Gatesville, Texas, but worked primarily in and around Houston. She studied under the tutelage of several American masters, including regionalist Grant Wood (1891-1942) in Iowa City, Iowa, and modernist Emil Bisttram (1895-1976) in Taos, New Mexico. Claxton also painted overseas, studying in Spain, Morocco, and France. Despite her travels, Claxton’s subject matter drifted back to West Texas landscapes, upon returning to the states. She exhibited work nationally, and was featured in the 1935 edition of “Who’s Who of American Women Painters.”