This column was published online for The Leader issue published March 21, 2015. I had no images of Miss Carolyn in this issue. The issue is online here on the Internet Archive.org. ~MC
Last week I mentioned Carolyn Bertrand, the octogenarian and still very persistent artist. We had a chance to talk, and I wanted to fill you in on some more details about this amazing woman.
Bertrand was born and raised in Houston, and studied art while still a teenager at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston under Robert C. Joy. Bertrand tells me Joy introduced her to modern art including the works of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Matisse and many others whose works were equally instrumental in shaping modern art today but not as well known to the public. Heck, Joy himself may have shaped the Houston art scene with his students, not to mention his own career. As a portraitist he completed hundreds of portraits including many iconic Texas figures like President Lyndon Johnson, Ima Hogg and cattleman and banker Gus S. Wortham.
Bertrand has been a lifelong student of art, but Joy, she told me, ruined her for other teachers when she was younger. She had a hard time finding teachers that knew more than herself. She said Joy’s instruction was that thorough. Following the MFA, Bertrand studied at the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with a grant from the Barnes Foundation. Ms. Bertrand had a lot to say about Albert Coombs Barnes, a major collector of the artists she was studying in school. Look him up and add the word “scandal” for an afternoon of fascinating reading.
Ms. Bertrand has lived life on her terms, clearly. Always looking for that elusive break to the big time, Bertrand worked when she needed to, and traveled to study when she wanted to. Researching the times and places she’s been is fascinating. She was part of the burgeoning modern art scene in Houston in the 1950’s. Bertrand recalls participating in juried shows alongside John Biggers, David Adickes and many other Houston artists.
Around 1955 Bertrand was studying sculpting in San Miguel de Allende, a city in central Mexico that is still popular with artists but just taking off then. As she put it, “Hollywood” came to town and filmed a movie while she was there! The film was Serenade starring Mario Lanza. Oh yes, that’s another story too.
Fifty minutes on the phone just flew by. Bertrand’s passion for art is as intense as it ever was, perhaps more now. Don’t ask her if she still paints though!
Bertrand just hates it when people ask her if she still paints — and threatens to die with a paintbrush in her hand. Not that she’s trying; she has big plans on the horizon.
Trained in oils initially, Bertrand has tried her hand with many different mediums but today favors colored inks. Her intricate designs on watercolor paper are as easy to get lost in as a garden maze. In April, Bertrand is planning a solo show in the Heights at Happy Fatz, 3510 White Oak Dr. I’ll get back to you on a confirmed date plus more on Ms. Bertrand.