Heritage, Volume 2, Number 4, Fall 1985 Page: 16
39 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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(Fig. 2)
Black Cave. Copied July 14, 1937. No. 1 and No. 2 are located under an overhanging cliff about one
hundred yards to the left of the Black Cave. They have faded badly because of their exposed location, but are
copied in about their original strength of color. No. 3 is under the same overhanging cliff, but only five yardsto the left of the shelter. These figures are badly faded and damaged by seep water.
Kirkland, courtesy of the Texas Memorial Museum. (Acc. No. 2261-28)Watercolor by Forrest
some of the Indian paintings with them
and found they matched almost exactly
the original colors used by the Indians.
The Kirklands' passion for the rock art
evolved to a more intellectual and scientific
interest through the years. They not
only wanted to copy the art, they wanted
to study it. Toward this end, Forrest
formed the Dallas Archeological Society.
In addition, he began to write scholarly
articles for publication (see bibliography
in Newcomb, 1967). In the ensuing years,
he was able to exhibit his paintings on
three separate occasions to much serious
acclaim.
Forrest died in 1942, and in the nine years
he and Lula worked on the project, he
produced 160 drawings from over 110
sites. More than twenty years later, with
Lula's help, W. W. Newcomb of the Texas
Memorial Museum wrote a definitive
book on Texas rock art, using Kirkland's
paintings as the core of his research. Lula
wrote, in 1965 that ". . getting this, Forrest's
book, published, is the first and last
and most important thing left in my life."
The work to preserve a record of Texas
rock art continues. Notable among recent
16scholars is Solveig Turpin, of the Texas
Archeological Survey, who headed a
project in 1980 and 1981 to systematically
photograph the rock art of Seminole
Canyon State Park.
The Texas Memorial Museum is fortunate
enough to house collections from all of
these major contributors to the rock art
field. A. T. Jackson's files are held at both
the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory
and at the Texas Memorial Museum.
0. L. Sims made a gift of his drawings
and tracings in 1971. The complete
collection of the Kirkland's paintings and
associated data such as Lula's diaries and
Forrest's paint boxes were purchased by
the museum after his death. S. Turpin's
photographs and notes were obtained in
1984.
A person with a casual interest in Texas
rock art will probably be content with the
carefully described information published
in the books by Jackson, Kirkland,
Newcomb and Turpin. Those with a more
serious aim may require fine points of
data that are found only in primary documentation.
To this end, the Texas Memorial
Museum recently began a re-housingproject to make such primary documentation
accessible to researchers.
Primary documentation in the form of
field notes, photographs, drawings, and
correspondence often remains in an institution
much as it was received-in
cardboard boxes or miscellaneous envelopes
and packets. Part of the increased
concern by museums to provide improved
accessibility for collections means not
only establishing stable environmental
surroundings, secure and dust-proof cabinetry,
and protective housings for individual
artifacts, but also to generate complete
and accurate inventories and
indices. These essentials of accessibility
have received renewed impetus and attention
in the last decade, especially with the
greater availability of computerized information
systems.
At Texas Memorial Museum, the original
rock art documentation had previously
been housed in several locations throughout
the Museum, some in better condition
than others. Parts of these collections
have been regularly and often heavily
used over the years for both research and
exhibit; however, we had no listings for
such components as Kirkland's original
HERITAGE * Fall 1985j
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 2, Number 4, Fall 1985, periodical, November 1, 1985; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45445/m1/16/?rotate=180: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.