Private Project

Frank Reaugh: Pastel Poet of the Texas Plains

Many consider Frank Reaugh’s oils and pastels as some of the most poetic depictions of Western landscapes ever produced. Charles Franklin Reaugh (1860-1945) was a key figure in the region’s development of visual art and art education during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was also an inventor, naturalist, and photographer. Reaugh affected more Texas artists through his own paintings, teaching, and annual sketching trips than any other artist in history. And while his contributions are known to historians, curators, and collectors of Texas art, his story is remarkably unfamiliar to the general public. It is the hope of Texas filmmakers, devotees, and narrator Michael Martin Murphey, that this documentary, featuring Reaugh’s impressionistic images of the Southwest, colorful commentary, and period photographs and music, will finally bring much-deserved attention to this man's fascinating life while acknowledging his many contributions to American art.

  • Marla Fields
    Director
  • Marla Fields
    Writer
  • Marla Fields
    Producer
  • Michael Martin Murphey
    Key Cast
    "Narrator"
  • Robert Magruder
    Key Cast
    "Frank Reaugh Voice"
  • Bruce DeFoor
    Key Cast
    "Frank Reaugh On Screen "
  • Chuck Venable
    Editor
  • John Dempsey
    Director of Photography
  • Curtis Peoples
    Music
  • Adam Oliver
    Music
  • Doug Smith & Michael Martin Murphey
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Art, History, Biography
  • Runtime:
    56 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 30, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    45,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Private Screenings - Various
    San Antonio, Beaumont, Houston, Amarillo
    Museum Screenings to Small Audiences
Director Biography - Marla Fields

Native Texan and first-time documentary filmmaker, Marla Fields, has been a freelance producer since 1994. With over 20 years of experience in overseeing numerous industrials and promotional productions from script-to-screen, Fields has been responsible for and assisted in the creative, pre-production, production, and post-production for over a hundred clients, both state and nationwide. When Fields learned of the unknown artist Frank Reaugh and his remarkable contributions, she stepped out of the corporate arena to write, produce, and direct her first feature-length documentary that features a crew of extraordinary Texas talent.

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Director Statement

It has been my honor to tell Mr. Reaugh's story. While he called Oak Cliff, Texas home, West Texas was where he preferred to live—under the stars, out on the plains—"in the days of free grass and open range". We gathered hundreds of images and interviewed a dozen individuals and they all eloquently conveyed the nature of Texas and this man's long-lasting spirit. During my journey of museum screenings, viewers time and time again remarked on how surprised they were to learn about Reaugh for the first time. They were fascinated with his and the documentary's stories on the cattle industry, the changing landscape, the history of Southwest, and Early Texas Art. His life story is an example of the resilient pioneer spirit that is synonymous with Texas and the great American West that audiences love to escape to. I know I do.