Folk Art in Texas Page: 173
203 p. : ill., ports. ; 29 cm.View a full description of this book.
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"Uncle Pete" Drac,
Czech-American Folk Artist
Text and Photographs by Clinton MachannPeter Paul Drgac was born east of Caldwell,
Texas, near the New Tabor community, on July 21,
1883. His immigrant parents were among the first
Czech settlers in Burleson County.' He grew up on
a farm there and, later, in the nearby community of
Cook's Point. At the local Shady Grove grade school,
he showed an outstanding proficiency in mathematics
but rejected suggestions that he continue his studies
to become a teacher. He assisted on the family farm
and also worked as a carpenter until he married Fran-
cis Mrnustik, a local girl, in 1905.
In 1916, the young couple began to operate a
grocery-bakery in Caldwell. Six years later, they
moved to Rosenberg, Texas, where they established
a grocery store. The store prospered until 1955 when
they retired, moved back to Caldwell, and built a
house. Although they were childless, the couple en-
joyed frequent visits from a number of nieces and
nephews, and "Uncle Pete," as he was called, oc-
cupied himself with occasional carpentry and grow-
ing fruit trees, flowers, and vegetables, which acquired
something of a local reputation. Specimens included
seven-pound turnips, a tomato stalk that produced
over 250 tomatoes, and a fruit tree that he grafted
to produce both apples and pears.
Uncle Pete's life reached a low point in the 1960s,
however. His wife of fifty-six years died in 1962. He
was no longer able to drive a car. He became increas-
ingly feeble and was forced to severely restrict the
manual labor associated with his favorite hobbies ofcarpentry and gardening. Then, at the age of eighty-
five, he discovered a new vocation that was to
transform the remaining years of his life.
According to his own account, he had just finished
whitewashing a flower box in his yard. While examin-
ing his work, he thought that the box needed a touch
of ornamentation, and, on impulse, he brought out
several jars of enamel paint from his storeroom and
started to paint flowers on the white background.
He was not satisfied with his first effort but resolved
to practice until he could do a better job. From that
point on, Uncle Pete knew that he had discovered
a new passion in his life. In the next eight years, un-
til his death in November 1976, he produced hun-
dreds of paintings.
Uncle Pete, of course, had no artistic pretensions,
and his creations were primitive, to say the least. He
was a pure example of the "naive" artist. He had had
no art lessons and he did not attempt to imitate the
style of any painter. Although he briefly flirted with
the watercolors bought for him by one of his
nephews, he continued to use bright enamels almost
exclusively, and he applied them with the small
household paintbrushes that he purchased at a local
hardware store. After the flower box, Uncle Pete's
medium shifted from one yard and household ob-
ject to another. He decorated work benches, tables,
chairs, chests, and cabinets. But he also painted
designs on milk cartons, fruit juice and cola bottles,
plastic bleach jugs, egg cartons, used light bulbs,* 173 *
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Folk Art in Texas (Book)
This book describes popular folk art of Texas, including basket weaving, hat-making, yard art, sculptures, murals, cemetery art, quilt-making, tattoo art, and other miscellaneous folk art. The index begins on page 198.
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Abernethy, Francis Edward. Folk Art in Texas, book, 1985; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67647/m1/181/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.