James Arthur Surls

Place: Terrell

Born: 1943

Biography:

James Arthur Surls is an American modernist artist and educator, known for his large sculptures. He was born on April 19, 1943, in Terrell, Texas, to Joe William Surls, a carpenter and cattle breeder, and Martha Lucille Surls, who was made an honorary Cherokee Nation elder. Surls was raised in Malakoff, Texas, and spent much of his childhood helping his father with chopping wood and building wooden structures. He attended Malakoff High School and later transferred to a junior college in San Diego. After receiving notification of the military draft, he returned to Texas to file for deferment. Surls earned a BS degree in 1966 from Sam Houston State University and continued his studies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he received a MFA degree in 1968. He taught art at Southern Methodist University and the University of Houston. Surls is an internationally recognized artist and one of the most preeminent living artists in the United States. His art is in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, Guggenheim Museum in New York, and many other institutions.