Texas State Capitol Austin Texas 1839

David Sanders

In honor of General Sam Houston’s great victory for Texas Independence at San Jacinto in 1836, the capital of The Republic of Texas was established at a newly-formed hamlet near the battlefield on the banks of Buffalo Bayou. The new capital city, founded by the Allen Brothers, was named “Houston” in honor of the Hero of San Jacinto.

When Mirabeau B. Lamar became the second President of the Republic, succeeding Houston, he was determined to move the capital off the Texas Gulf Coast to a more central location of the young nation. Many Texans, including Sam Houston, were strongly opposed to this idea.

In 1839, Lamar found a new location he liked on the banks of the Colorado River in central Texas about 200 miles northwest of Houston. The little settlement, then called “Waterloo”, was a scenic but dangerous place perched on the very edge of the Texas frontier in the heart of Comancheria. Despite the risk, in 1839 Lamar loaded the entire archives, papers and what little money there was in the treasury of the Republic into several wagons, and with an escort of Texas Rangers, moved the entire government of the Republic of Texas to the new location. A brand new city was laid out, a hill was selected for the site of the new capitol building, and the new capital city of the Republic was built. It was named in honor of The Father of Texas...Austin.

Austin artist David Sanders’ great painting documents and honors the founding of Texas’ new capital city. This is a fine work by an acclaimed artist and a true Texas historical treasure. The painting has been in our collection since it was created in 1988.

Artist Bio

Known for his oil pastel landscapes, Austin, Texas David Sanders trained at Southwest Texas State University to become a commercial artist but earned so many portrait commissions that he immediately began working as a fine artist.

He is one of the twelve founders of the Texas Association of Professional Artists, and in 1975, had a one-man exhibition of his paintings at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. David was one of Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe's favorite artists, and many of fine paintings found their way into the Briscoe collection, one of the very best western art collections in America. David’s compelling art can also be found in many other important private and public collections.

Over his career, David has created some very special art depicting such iconic subjects as the King Ranch, the founding of Austin, Texas, Col. Charles Goodnight and the JA Ranch, numerous Native Americans and some of the very best Texas Hill Country landscapes ever produced.