C. Thomas Wright: Patron and Collector

San Antonio businessman Tom Wright has been a stalwart supporter of the museum since he joined the Friends of the McNay in the early 1960s. His collection, which many know from visits to his homes and apartments over the years, could best be described as eclectic, ranging from pre-Columbian to contemporary art. An important component—not always on view, and therefore not as well known—is his prints and drawings collection, one that has developed parallel to that of the museum’s over the past five decades. As did so many others in San Antonio, Wright began with purchases at the McNay’s annual Collectors Gallery, where directors and curators over the years promoted the acquisition of modernist works on paper. Wright’s collecting has continued at the museum’s annual Print Fair as well as through his travels with the Affiliate Groups, Friends of the McNay and the McNay Contemporary Collectors Forum. This presentation ranges from late 19th-century lithographs by Pierre Bonnard and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to a wonderful and select group of French and American 20th-century prints by Rockwell Kent, Emile Laboureur, and Kurt Seligmann. Bringing the exhibition up to the present day is a magnificent drawing by Luis A. Jiménez Jr. and prints by Makota Sasaki and James Siena. Closely linked to the history of the McNay, Wright’s collection beautifully complements the museum’s areas of strength in 19th- and 20th-century prints and drawings.