WNMU hosts a retrospective of Cecil Howard's 68-year art career at McCray Callery 090723

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

[Editor's Note: A slideshow of his work on exhibit is below the Read More.]

Cecil Howard, who served as an art professor at Western New Mexico University, told the Beat that when he was in high school, no art courses were offered. "But one of my teachers liked art and knew I was interested in it. She helped me get a piece of stone from a quarry. Her husband was a gravestone carver, and he loaned some of his tools to me." One of the photos shows the first carving he made.

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WNMU Hosts Cecil Howard Retrospective of his 68-year art career to date 090723

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One of Howard's first works - a window

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Cecil Howard self-portrait 1961

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Howard self-portrait 1991

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Howard's first sculpture done in high school

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Untitled - 2023

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Some of the visitors to the show

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Welded Steel - "Black Sulphur" - 1968

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Dreaming in the Uffizzi 2001

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Sun Grown and Sweet White Onions 2018

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Visitors in another portion of the gallery

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Italy influenced 1991 Staza della Segnatura, third part of a tryptych, which won the Governor's Award and is on exhibit at the Governor's Gallery in Santa Fe

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Visitors in the McCray Gallery looking at Howard's paintings and sculptures

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Robin and Alex Oheltree talk with Marilyn Howard, Cecil's wife

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Mike Lane and Cecil Howard chat

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Cecil's family, from left, his daughter-in-law Alice and son Japeth, Marilyn, Cecil and their daughter Ana

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Juniper and copper "Eagle" from the Sudie Kennedy collection

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Cecil, retired art professor and former Expressive Arts Department chair, with current department chair Michael Metcalf

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Silver City artist Jean-Robert Beffort talks to Cecil

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Faye McCalmont, who got the retrospective in process before she retired, and Cecil

Because of the vast variety of media used in his art work, the Beat asked Howard if there were any medium he had never used.

"I never did any print-making professionally, only in college," Howard replied. "I also did not teach jewelry, photography or print-making. I taught almost everything else, including art appreciation."

His wife, Marilyn, said she tried to get him interested in print-making, but he didn't want to do it. "So, I did it instead. I liked doing it."