Belle Austin  (1880 - 1980)

Belle Austin, (1880-1980), was born in Smith County, Texas. She was a direct descendant of Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas. A child prodigy as an artist she was painting at age seven and as a teenager was selling her paintings. Her family wanted to provide a formal art training background for their daughter and sent her to New York to study with artist and teacher George Bridgman.

She attended the Art Students League in New York. After completing her training in New York she traveled to California training at the Stickney Memorial Art School located in Pasadena. After studying and painting in California she returned to Texas and opened a studio on Hemphill Street in Fort Worth where she specialized in Texas landscapes and sought commissions for portraiture.

She traveled the state for over 30 years painting and teaching art. Her works were often florals and landscapes. She competed in the annual Texas art exhibitions held in Fort Worth. She had numerous solo exhibitions and was promoted in the Dow And Bandy Galleries in Fort Worth into the 1950's.

Information on this well listed artist can be found The Dictionary of Texas Artists, Art and Artists of Texas, Texas Painters, Sculptors & Graphic Artists: A Biographical Dictionary of Artists in Texas Before 1942, Mallett and others.