For western art to achieve the distinction of fine art, it must first satisfy an artistic criteria and only then deal with the particularity of western subject matter. Melvin Warren understood this concept. His work is an accomplished artistic statement that also presents images which are faithful to western reality.
Warren was born in California in 1920 and lived in Arizona and New Mexico before coming to Texas at the age of fourteen. He has seen the beaugty and felt the lure of the Southwest and it stimulated his boyhood desire to be an artist. After service in World War II, Warren entered Texas Chrisitian University and received a degree in fine arts. During the day, he worked in the best tradition of commercial art work, and in the evenings he painted out the western fantasies that crowded his mind.
His paintings and the process of creating them encouraged Warren to seek a gallery outlet. The subtle sensitivity to his subject matter and an obvious control of the technical elements of painting made his work readily acceptable to a broad range of collectors. He became a special favorite of Lyndon Johnson who ultimately acquired many Warren oils.
Today, Melvin Warren's work can be found in the permanent collections of many Universities, museums and other public institutions. He is widely acknowledged as one of the very best Western artists of the 20th century.
ReSources include: The American West: Legendary Artists of the Frontier, Dr. Rick Stewart, Hawthorne Publishing Company, 1986
