Janet Krueger
Encyclopedia
Janet Eager Krueger is an artist
known for her large-scale oil
paintings of South Texas
ranching life. She is an associate professor of art at Texas A&M International University
in Laredo
and lives on a ranch in nearby Encinal
, Texas
, in the southwestern corner of La Salle County just north of the Webb County
line. In April 2007, Krueger was designated by the Texas Commission on the Arts as "Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist of the Year" for 2008. State Representative
Harvey Hilderbran
of Kerrville
(District 53), chairman of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, said that such artists as Krueger "demonstrate the of what art in Texas is all about. The work of these artists, and others like them, ensures that art and culture thrives in our great state and we are pleased to honor these talented men and women with this recognition."
Krueger's work is contained in private and corporate collections, including, the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Laredo National Bank, TAMIUI, the University of Texas at San Antonio
, Valero Energy and the San Antonio Spurs
, a professional basketball
team. Her work was also shown in the Austin
office of First Lady
Laura Bush
, when U.S. President George W. Bush
was governor
of Texas. Art consultant Alice Carrington Foultz told the Laredo Morning Times
that Krueger captures "the issue of the border area . . . in a way." One of her paintings depicts milk
cartons discarded onto a field by illegal immigrants
. Foultz said that Krueger "gives such a pure and honest portrayal of the South Texas landscape, and she honors livestock with such majesty and respect."
Krueger's mother Betty was herself a watercolors artist. Her paternal aunt
, Grace Eager, was a zoological painter in the 1940s. Krueger graduated from Alamo Heights High School
in San Antonio. In 1975, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
in art history
from the University of Texas at Austin
. She then became the artist-in-residence for the College Station
school district and then the slide curator for the architecture
department at Texas A&M University
in College Station.
In 1980, she moved to Encinal, population 650, after she married her high school
classmate, George C. Krueger (born 1951). The couple has two grown children, Will and Kate. For a time, Krueger devoted herself to ranch life and worked for a large-animal veterinarian
in San Antonio. Thereafter, Krueger became an art instructor at Laredo Community College
. She then pursued her Master of Fine Arts
from the University of Texas at San Antonio in the late 1990s. She worked under the art professor and landscape artist Charles Field. In time, she joined the TAMIU faculty.
Krueger established a youth arts program known as Hecho en Encinal ("Made in Encinal"). The program receives $250,000 in funding from the city of Encinal. On July 22, 2008, the Encinal City Council
rejected the pursuit of a $511,000 grant, originally awarded in 2005 from the Rural Development Division of the United States Department of Agriculture
, which would have provided broadband Internet
service to the community. Krueger called the council decision "tragic" because the grant "would have been for the elevation of young people in this community. It's sad. [The city council] won't get another chance like this." The council declined the grant because of long-range costs involved after the initial two-year period. Mayor Sylvano Sanchez said that the community would instead concentrate on street paving.
Krueger began her art with oil paintings and worked from photographs of the ranch. She then moved to drawing and sketching with color pencils. Her work with color pencils is said to stand out from that of others in the same medium. She has been frequently displayed at the Hunt Gallery in San Antonio.
Krueger's art is rooted in the South Texas Brush Country, known for its usually scorching summer temperatures. Her imagery includes the small towns and the border culture as well as the people and animals of the region as they encounter drought
and rugged terrain. Her art resonates with love, humor, and a sense of mission.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for her large-scale oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
paintings of South Texas
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
ranching life. She is an associate professor of art at Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M International University, often referred to as TAMIU, is a public, co-educational, state-supported university located in Laredo, Texas...
in Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
and lives on a ranch in nearby Encinal
Encinal, Texas
Encinal is a city in La Salle County, Texas, United States. The population was 629 at the 2000 census. Interstate 35 Business runs through the community. There are few businesses in Encinal; most have closed along the main street....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in the southwestern corner of La Salle County just north of the Webb County
Webb County, Texas
Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The official 2010 population for the county is 250,304. In 2000, its population was 193,117, and in 2006 its population had been estimated to have reached to 231,470. Its county seat is Laredo...
line. In April 2007, Krueger was designated by the Texas Commission on the Arts as "Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist of the Year" for 2008. State Representative
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
Harvey Hilderbran
Harvey Hilderbran
Harvey Ray Hilderbran is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 53, which includes fifteen central Texas counties. Hilderbran resides in Kerrville west of San Antonio.-Legislative matters:Rep...
of Kerrville
Kerrville, Texas
Kerrville is a city in Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population was 20,425 at the 2000 census. In 2009, the population was 22,826...
(District 53), chairman of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, said that such artists as Krueger "demonstrate the of what art in Texas is all about. The work of these artists, and others like them, ensures that art and culture thrives in our great state and we are pleased to honor these talented men and women with this recognition."
Krueger's work is contained in private and corporate collections, including, the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Laredo National Bank, TAMIUI, the University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio, commonly referred to as UTSA, is a state university in San Antonio, Texas. With an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, it is the third-largest of nine universities and six health institutions in the University of Texas System and the eighth-largest in...
, Valero Energy and the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
, a professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team. Her work was also shown in the Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
office of First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
, when U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
was governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Texas. Art consultant Alice Carrington Foultz told the Laredo Morning Times
Laredo Morning Times
The Laredo Morning Times is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation.The Laredo Morning Times was founded on June 14, 1881 as "the Laredo Weekly," a four-page newspaper published by James Saunders Penn. Two years later, the paper became a...
that Krueger captures "the issue of the border area . . . in a way." One of her paintings depicts milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
cartons discarded onto a field by illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
. Foultz said that Krueger "gives such a pure and honest portrayal of the South Texas landscape, and she honors livestock with such majesty and respect."
Krueger's mother Betty was herself a watercolors artist. Her paternal aunt
Aunt
An aunt is a person who is the sister or sister-in-law of a parent. A man with an equivalent relationship is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece....
, Grace Eager, was a zoological painter in the 1940s. Krueger graduated from Alamo Heights High School
Alamo Heights High School
Alamo Heights High School is a secondary school located in the city of Alamo Heights, Texas and is the only high school in the Alamo Heights Independent School District....
in San Antonio. In 1975, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
in art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. She then became the artist-in-residence for the College Station
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...
school district and then the slide curator for the architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
department at Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
in College Station.
In 1980, she moved to Encinal, population 650, after she married her high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
classmate, George C. Krueger (born 1951). The couple has two grown children, Will and Kate. For a time, Krueger devoted herself to ranch life and worked for a large-animal veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
in San Antonio. Thereafter, Krueger became an art instructor at Laredo Community College
Laredo Community College
The Laredo Community College, or LCC, was established as Laredo Junior College on September 28, 1947, by the Laredo Independent School District in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...
. She then pursued her Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
from the University of Texas at San Antonio in the late 1990s. She worked under the art professor and landscape artist Charles Field. In time, she joined the TAMIU faculty.
Krueger established a youth arts program known as Hecho en Encinal ("Made in Encinal"). The program receives $250,000 in funding from the city of Encinal. On July 22, 2008, the Encinal City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
rejected the pursuit of a $511,000 grant, originally awarded in 2005 from the Rural Development Division of the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
, which would have provided broadband Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
service to the community. Krueger called the council decision "tragic" because the grant "would have been for the elevation of young people in this community. It's sad. [The city council] won't get another chance like this." The council declined the grant because of long-range costs involved after the initial two-year period. Mayor Sylvano Sanchez said that the community would instead concentrate on street paving.
Krueger began her art with oil paintings and worked from photographs of the ranch. She then moved to drawing and sketching with color pencils. Her work with color pencils is said to stand out from that of others in the same medium. She has been frequently displayed at the Hunt Gallery in San Antonio.
Krueger's art is rooted in the South Texas Brush Country, known for its usually scorching summer temperatures. Her imagery includes the small towns and the border culture as well as the people and animals of the region as they encounter drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
and rugged terrain. Her art resonates with love, humor, and a sense of mission.