Martha Mood (Texas, 1908-1972), family picnic with Texas wildlife, hand-embroidered textile stitchery on fabric, sewn to burlap backing, embroidered signature and date lower center, 1963

length 83 in. x width 44 in.

Provenance: Property from a home in San Antonio, Texas; originally commissioned from the artist as a family portrait by a local periodontist

Martha Mood was one of the foremost leading figures of the South Texas Arts & Crafts movement, along with her husband, Beaumont Mood. Martha Mood originally studied art at the University of California at Berkeley, and then settled in Texas, working as an art teacher at the San Antonio Art Institute. The Moods famously created a ceramics studio providing unique fixtures to regional architects, including O'Neil Ford. Martha Mood then transitioned to textiles in the 1950s, creating dynamic, multi-layered depictions of naturalistic scenes in fabric and stitchery. Mood's work can be found to this day in prominent homes and institutions, including Trinity University and Saint Mary's Hall in San Antonio, Texas.