Since 2013, the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History has collaborated with The Ioannes Project to study, document, and exhibit the work of the painter John Wilcox (1954-2012).
This collaboration has resulted in a series of six installations of Wilcox’s paintings and works on paper, which took place in the artist’s former studio in Dallas between 2013 and 2018, and the accompanying six-volume catalogue, published between 2015 and 2022.
The O’Donnell Institute continues to steward the archive and database that supports study and exhibition of Wilcox’s work.
The John Wilcox Archive
Over the course of his career in Texas, California, and New York, the painter John Wilcox (1954-2012) produced more than 200 canvases and almost 300 works on paper, now held in public and private collections across the United States and in the artist’s estate.
When Wilcox died in 2012, he left not only this body of work, but also a collection of sketches and notes, exhibition documentation, correspondence, photographs, artist’s statements, and a 300-volume library, as well as paints and painting tools.
This material has been organized, photographed, catalogued, and stored to form the John Wilcox Archive.
The John Wilcox Archive is now housed at the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at the University of Texas at Dallas, and was a gift of the painter’s brother David K. Wilcox. Both the archival material and Wilcox’s paintings and works on paper are documented in a comprehensive, searchable database, also housed at the O’Donnell Institute.
Along with a six-volume catalogue of Wilcox’s work published in 2022, the John Wilcox Archive is the point of departure for study and exhibition of the artist’s life and career.
Download an overview of the archive.
To inquire about access to the archive, please write to arthistory@utdallas.edu with the subject line The John Wilcox Archive.
John Wilcox, a six-volume catalogue
In 2022, The Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History and The Ioannes Project completed the publication of John Wilcox, a six-volume catalogue of the paintings of John Wilcox. Produced by Lucia | Marquand, this intensively researched and richly illustrated series forms the foundational source for the study of the artist’s work and life.
John Wilcox presents new research on Wilcox’s career and opens a range of perspectives on his work and life. The series includes essays by art historians, curators, artists, and conservators, color plates of individual works, documentation of the exhibitions, material from the painter’s archive, and a narrative chronology.
Volume I The Art of John Wilcox: An Introduction, curated by Barry Whistler
Volume II John Wilcox: The Works from 1980 to 1981, California to Texas, curated by Rick Brettell
Volume III Private Words: Selected Works of John Wilcox, curated by Leigh Arnold
Volume IV John Wilcox: Diptychs and Polyptychs, curated by Sarah Kozlowski and Benjamin Lima
Volume V Relinquishing Time: Selected Works of John Wilcox, curated by David Wilcox
Volume VI Elements and Process: Selected Works of John Wilcox, curated by Laura Hartmann and Arthur Peña
Six volumes in slipcase, 9” x 9 ½”, 511 pages, 77 plates, 217 figures and images
Download the publication announcement here. For inquiries or to obtain a copy of the catalogue, please write to the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at arthistory@utdallas.edu.
John Wilcox: The Relinquishment of Time
We invite you to view the award-winning documentary of John Wilcox’s life and work, The Relinquishment of Time at the Exploredinary website.