Dallas art collector and benefactor Nona Norsworthy Barrett and her husband Richard Barrett began collecting Texas art about a quarter of a century ago, beginning with contemporary artists in the Dallas area and expanding throughout the state.
Their collection included works by Derek Bosier, David Bates, Bill Komodore, James Magee and many other important Texas artists – early, modern and contemporary. Other artists represented in the Barrett collection are Frank Reaugh, Edward G. Eisenlohr, and Julian Onderdonk, several works of the Dallas Nine, particularly Everett Spruce and William Lester, and Forrest Bess.
Director Maxwell Anderson praised the Barretts for “a generosity that was combined with intelligent, refined and enthusiastic collecting interests … Nona and Richard Barrett brought prominence and acclaim to the Dallas Museum of Art.”
Over the years they have gifted many works to the Dallas Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and other major institutions, sometimes with stipulations that some of the work find its way to regional museums across the entire state.
Nona was one of the top collectors in the region. She was a 4th-generation Texan who was a tremendous champion of Texas artists. With her passing earlier this year, the Dallas art community is diminished and she will be missed.
(With thanks to Christina Rees and Michael Granberry for use of content from their tribute articles)