Alexandre Hogue Art

REALIST PAINTER ASSOCIATED WITH THE DALLAS NINE GAINING NATIONWIDE FAME

By Meredith Meuwly

Alexandre Hogue is more than a Texas artist. He is an American regionalist who was profoundly influenced by the devastation of the 1930s Dust Bowl on his native land. Severe drought, wind erosion and great dust storms devastated the Texas panhandle and surrounding lands.

Hogue (1898-1994) is associated with the Dallas Nine, a group of like-minded artists creating works influenced by the land and people of the American Southwest. Hogue exhibited in nearly all the major Texas exhibitions and also showed at the National Academy of Design, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Biennial, and the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

When speaking of his work, Hogue referred to his style as “Abstract Realism.” He believed that naturalism or true realism was not possible – that by attempting to create a realistic landscape, artists naturally change reality to fit their interpretation of the subject. Thus, Hogue’s drawings and paintings are of realistic images, yet often from different points of view, lending an overall abstract appearance to the works.

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Although his works were exhibited frequently across the United States, very few have come to the market over the past 20 years and even fewer of those were from his Dust Bowl period. Because of the scarcity of available works on the market and an increase in scholarly attention, there is currently great demand for artworks by Alexandre Hogue.

Many of Hogue’s artworks – paintings, watercolors, drawings and prints – are signed, but not always. Look for abstract realist landscapes of the American Southwest rendered with broad slashes of paint that appear to be a collage of two-dimensional geometric masses. Hogue’s most significant works will reflect views of “Mother Earth” and the destructive effects of time, weather and man on the land. 

Do you have an Alexandre Hogue painting?

If so, Heritage Auctions has a deep list of collectors looking for his pieces. In November 2017, Heritage sold Glen Rose, 1926, for $78,125, more than three times the pre-auction estimate. It was a new world auction record for the artist.

MEREDITH MEUWLY can be reached at 214.409.1631 or MeredithM@HA.com.