Bio
Stephen Thomas Rascoe (1924–2008) had a life in art that spanned six decades. His paintings were influenced by his early life experiences in the Texas Hill Country, the Gulf Coast, and the vast plains of Central Texas. His travel experiences in Europe, Mexico, and the western United States also contributed to the subject matter, richness, and vibrant color of his work.
Born in Uvalde, Texas in 1924, Rascoe grew up in Corpus Christi, and then attended the University of Texas. After serving in World War II, he completed his undergraduate work in fine art in 1949 at the Art Institute of Chicago and went on to earn his MFA in 1951. After working as a draftsman for Texaco and Shell Oil, in 1964 Rascoe took a position as art instructor at University of Texas Arlington. Rascoe was a professor of art there until his retirement in 1992.
When he first began to paint, Rascoe embraced the style of modern art like many of his contemporaries. As his career progressed, his style changed from strict abstraction to a more impressionistic naturalism. He frequently said that he wanted his art to be “the kind of art you’d like to live with.”
Rascoe was active in the post war Texas art scene and his paintings were frequently shown with his mid-century contemporaries such as Otis Dozier, Kelly Fearing, Michael Frary, DeForest Judd, William Lester, Everett Spruce, and Charles Umlauf. Being a soft-spoken man, Rascoe never possessed the inclination to self-promote like many of his peers; he poured all of his creative energy into the works themselves.
Rascoe’s paintings are in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Art Museum of South Texas, the Texas A&M University Museum, University of Texas, Southern Methodist University, Texas Fine Arts Association Laguna Gloria Museum, and the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin. His works also appears in numerous public and private collections.
“If Monet were alive today, I really believe he would be painting in the Hill Country.” -Stephen Rascoe
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Dallas Museum of Art
Houston Museum of Art
Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi
Arlington Museum of Art
Southern Methodist University, Dallas
The University Art Museum of the University of Texas at Austin
Texas Fine Arts Association’s Laguna Gloria Museum, Austin
Texas A & M University Museum, The Frank H. Wardlaw Collection of Texas Art, College Station
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan,
Memory Tech, Plano
MAJOR AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Houston Museum of Fine Arts Purchase Award, in the 18th Annual Texas Painting and Sculpture Exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts First Purchase Award, in the Texas Annual Painting and Sculpture Exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts
Friends of Texas Fine Arts Purchase for the Texas Fine Arts Association
D.D. Feldman Purchase Award, at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts
Junior Service League of Longview Annual Invitational Awards
South Texas Art League Awards
Corpus Christi Art Foundation Annual Exhibitions Awards
