A Wind Blew in Texas

Frances Marian Hebert

A tree bends and curls in a strong wind, urging on the horse-drawn cart as the sky darkens above. In the background, the smooth curves of a hilly landscape rise up from the murky ground, sentries in the storm watching the progress of the travelers as they bend into nature’s forceful wrath. A quiet, precise tonality lends elegance to the scene with Frances Marian Hebert’s singular use of aquatint.

An unusual path led artist Hebert to art, having begun her academic pursuits in mathematics and physics. Ill health, however, found her heading from the harsh Northeast to the temperate climate of Southern California in 1923, where she settled in Santa Barbara and by chance was introduced to the burgeoning arts scene. There, she returned once more to college, studying at various times with Frank Morley Fletcher, Cora Boone, and Mauricio Lasansky, rounding out a broad printmaking education. Though primarily known for her floral compositions, she was equally adept at capturing the drama of daily life in the American Southwest.