MARGIE CRISP (b. 1960)

Originally from New Orleans, Margie Crisp resides in Elgin, just east of Austin, with her husband and fellow artist William Montgomery.

An award-winning author, Crisp divides her time between writing and creating art. Currently her primary mediums are egg tempera paintings on panel (often embellished with 24k gold leaf) and printmaking including linocuts and lithographs. She finds working in the traditional medium of egg tempera a meditative process and enjoys working with the dry pigments, mixing in egg yolk to produce the quick-drying and durable paint.

While birds are one of the primary subjects in her art, she does not consider herself a bird artist. She explains that birds are prevalent, abundant, and familiar. They inhabit the same spaces as people and are bold enough to confront them. She feels that the moment of communion between species compels her to repeatedly draw, paint, and print birds.

Crisp describes her own work as grounded in reality: the particular, the focused, the well-observed, or the specifically-imagined.

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights

1960 Born in New Orleans, Louisiana

1984 Associate of Applied Science in Commercial Art and Advertising Design, with High Honors, Southwestern Technical College, Sylva, North Carolina

1991 BFA, with High Honors, The University of Texas at Austin

2009 Writer in Residence, Thinking Like a Mountain Foundation, Ft. Davis

2011 Artist in Residence, Madroño Ranch, Medina

2012 Published River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado, Texas A&M University Press

2012 Ron Tyler Award for Best Illustrated Book on Texas History and Culture, presented by Texas State Historical Association

2012 Carr P. Collins Award for Best Book of Non-Fiction, Texas Institute of Letters

2017 Published award-winning book The Nueces River: Rio Escondido with artwork by William Montgomery, Texas A&M University Press

Resides in Elgin, Texas

2019-2021 The Texas Aesthetic, Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston

2019 Lone Star Wild: Margie Crisp, David Everett, Billy Hassell and William B. Montgomery, group exhibition, Davis Gallery, Austin, Texas

2018 Of Texas Rivers and Art Touring Exhibition, Mayborn Museum at Baylor University, Waco

2017 Margie Crisp & William Montgomery: Opposing Currents, Baugh Center for the Visual Arts Gallery, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton

2017 Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo; Texas Capitol Ground Floor Rotunda, Austin; Witte Museum, San Antonio (book by same title published by Texas A&M Press)

2017 Lone Star Legacies in Contemporary Texas Art, Haley Memorial Library & History Center, Midland

2017 Contemporary Texas Regionalism: A Holiday Show, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston

2016-17 The Texas Aesthetic, Annual Exhibition, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston

2016 The Wilds of Texas: Capturing Flora & Fauna of the Lone Star State, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston

2016 Contemporary Texas Regionalism: A Holiday Show, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston

2015 Ties that Bind: Contemporary Texas Regionalism, Turner House, Dallas

2015 Painting in the Texas Tradition: Contemporary Texas Regionalism, Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts, Spring

2015 Holiday Show with the Contemporary Texas Regionalists, group exhibition, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
2015 Menagerie, Art and the Animal Kingdom, group exhibition, The Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas

2014 Painting in the Texas Tradition: Contemporary Texas Regionalism, Turner House, Dallas
2014 60th Anniversary Exhibition: A Celebration of Valley House Artists, group exhibition, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2014 Salon Series: Painting in the Texas Tradition, Turner House, Dallas, Texas

2013 Holidays at the Haley, Haley Memorial Library, Midland

2013 Wings & Wheels, Artwork from the Airport’s Collection, Phoenix Airport Museum, Phoenix, Arizona

2013 Margie Crisp: Art of the Texas Colorado River, Solo, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin

2012 River of Contrasts: Artwork of the Texas Colorado River by Margie Crisp, Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Austin

2012 River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado, Solo, Taste Wine & Art, Johnson City

2012 River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado, Solo, Art Center of Waco

2012 Restless Heart: Early and Contemporary Texas Regionalism, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo

2011 Perspective Influences Perception, Artwork from the Airport’s Collection, Phoenix Airport Museum, Phoenix
2011 The Texas Aesthetic IV: Contemporary Texas Regionalism, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
2011 Fresh & Salty (a Valley House Gallery group exhibition), Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas
2010 Shorelines, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2009 Thank You Fort Worth: An Appreciation from Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden, group exhibition, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas
2008-2009 Art, Science, and the World Around Us, group exhibition, Art Center Waco, Waco, Texas

2007 Betty MacDonald, Foust, and Margie Crisp, Migration, A Gallery, Charlottesville, Virginia
2007 South Press Printastic Printacular, Carillon Gallery, Joe B. Rushing Center for the Performing Arts, Tarrant County College District South Campus, Fort Worth, Texas
2007 Away From Home: Artists Roam and Respond, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas

2006 Kingdom Animalia: Creatures Big and Small by Artists Old and New (group exhibition), Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2006 Group show, Kingfisher Fine Art & Music, Elgin, Texas
2006 Margie Crisp, Scott & White Smith Art Gallery, Scott & White Memorial Hospital, Temple, Texas
2006 Angilee Wilkerson, Natasha E. Downs, Margie Crisp, Kirchman Gallery, Johnson City, Texas
2006 Art Ball X, Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria
2006 McNay Print Fair, McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas

2005 McNay Print Fair, McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas

2005 Austin City Hall, invitational exhibition
2005 Party 4Art, invitational, Abilene Arts Alliance, Abilene, Texas
2005 The Print Show 2005, Maryland Federation of Art City Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland
2005 Margie Crisp, The Good Tern, Galveston, Texas
2005 New Works: Margie Crisp, Helen Kwiatkowski, William B. Montgomery, RoseMinn Gallery, Elgin, Texas
2004 McNay Print Fair, McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas

2004 Red Hot Red Dot Invitational, Women & Their Work Gallery, Austin, Texas
2004 Three Texas Printmakers, RoseMinn Gallery, Elgin, Texas
2004 Gardens, Real and Imagined, Austin Museum of Art, Driscoll Villa, Austin, Texas
2004 Valley House Gallery 50th Anniversary Show, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2003 McNay Print Fair, McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas

2003 North American Print Biennial, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
2003 Gallery in the Garden, Invitational, The Governor's Mansion, Austin, Texas
2003 Red Hot Red Dot Invitational, Women & Their Work Gallery, Austin, Texas
2003 Birds, 5th Annual Juried Exhibition, The Gallery at Concordia University, Austin, Texas
2003 Austin Mayor's Office, Juried Exhibition, Austin, Texas
2002 McNay Print Fair, McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2002 The Naked Truth: Works on Paper, Davis Gallery, Austin, Texas
2002 5 x 7 x X, TFAA, The Jones Center for Contemporary Art, Austin, Texas
2002 Gallery in the Garden, Invitational, The Governor’s Mansion, Austin, Texas
2002 The Naked Truth: Works on Paper, The Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, Louisiana
2002 Margie Crisp & Dianne Grammer, Davis Gallery, Austin, Texas
2002 Hand-pulled: The Contemporary Print, Target Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia
2002 American Landscapes 2002: Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, Maryland
2002 People, Places & Things: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Austin Museum of Art, Texas
2001 Summer Group Exhibition, Davis Gallery, Austin, Texas
2001 Earth, Wind, Water, Sky, The Texas Landscape: Six Women Artists, Touring exhibition (organized by Margie Crisp and Dianne Grammer), The San Angelo Museum, San Angelo, Texas
2001 New Prints From Texas, Women & Their Work, Austin, Texas
2001 Art Ball V, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
2001 TexasXpress, Invitational Print Trade Portfolio, University of Texas at Austin
2001 Red Hot Red Dot Invitational, Women & Their Work Gallery, Austin, Texas
2001 28th Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana
2000 Multiple Originals V, Women Printmakers of Austin, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, Texas
2000 The Texas Landscape: Six Women Artists, Traveling exhibition (organized by Margie Crisp and Dianne Grammer), The Art Center, Waco, Texas; The Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas; Tarrytown Gallery, Austin, Texas
2000 Significant Other: William B. Montgomery & Margie Crisp, Tarrytown Gallery, Austin, Texas
2000 Counterpoint 2000, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram, Texas
2000 Red Hot Red Dot Invitational, Women & Their Work Gallery, Austin, Texas
2000 23rd National Print Biennial, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, Connecticut
1999 MultipleOriginals IV, Women Printmakers of Austin, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, Texas
1999 The Bug Show, Concordia Lutheran College, Austin, Texas
1999 Margie Crisp & Pat Falconer, Local Color Gallery, College Station, Texas
1999 McNay Print Fair, McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas

1999 Margie Crisp, solo exhibition, McCormick Gallery, Midland College, Midland, Texas
1999 Impressed: Regional Printmakers Invitational, Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio, Texas
1999 Multiple Impressions: The Austin Printmaking Community, ACA Gallery, Austin
1999 Common Grounds: Texas Landscapes, (organized by Margie Crisp and Dianne Grammer), Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Texas
1999 Art on Paper 1999, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, Maryland
1999 26th Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana
1999 Juror’s Choice, The 1999 Member’s Show, Women & Their Work, Austin, Texas
1998 DISH!, Invitational Exhibit, Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas
1998 Art School Faculty Exhibition, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
1998 Glenn Whitehead, Will Klemm and Margie Crisp, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas
1998 From Dawn To Dusk, Landscapes in Pastel and Charcoal by Four Central Texas Artists, Glenn
1998 22nd National Print Biennial, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, Connecticut
1998 Working Under Pressure, Women Printmakers of Austin, Laughing at the Sun, Austin
1998 Refreshingly Unfamiliar, Tarrytown Gallery, Austin, Texas
1998 Horace Cardwell Competition, Museum of East Texas, Lufkin, Texas
1998 Stop and Smell the Ink: The Wildflower Portfolio and New Works by Women Printmakers of Austin, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, Texas
1998 A Walk Through English Gardens, 1998 Beaux Arts Ball Benefit, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas
1998 National Works on Paper, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas
1998 Minnesota National Print Biennial, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1997 Contemporary Views: Images of Land and Nature, Dianne Grammer, Margie Crisp, Stacy Erickson, and Gordon Fowler, Museum of the Big Bend, Alpine, Texas
1997 Images from Women Printmakers of Austin, Concordia University, Austin, Texas
1997 Book Value, Contemporary Artists' Books, Slugfest Printmaking Workshop and Studios, Austin, Texas
1997 Natural Wonders, Valley House Gallery Inc., Dallas, Texas
1997 Impression/Expression, East Texas Community College, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
1997 Horace Cardwell Competition, Museum of East Texas, Lufkin, Texas
1997 ArtView '97, The Art Center of Waco, Waco, Texas
1997 Bestiary Show, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, Texas
1997 New Lines, Women Printmakers of Austin, St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas
1997 Margie Crisp & Dianne Grammer, Tarrytown Gallery, Austin, Texas
1996 Holiday Impressions, Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas
1996 Something in the Water, Tarrytown Gallery, Austin, Texas
1996 Images of Nature V, Martin-Rathburn Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
1996 In the Garden: Katherine Brimberry & Margie Crisp, Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas
1996 Counterpoint 1996, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram, Texas
1996 Multiple Originals, Women Printmakers of Austin - Alphabet Project, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, Texas
1996 Plate Marks, San Marcos Fine Arts Center, San Marcos, Texas
1996 Southwest '96, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1995 Drawing A-Z, Dougherty Art Center, Austin, Texas
1995 Counterpoint 1995, Ed R. Turner Memorial Award, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram, Texas
1995 Fourth Annual Summer Landscape Exhibition, Tarrytown Gallery, Austin, Texas
1995 Art @ Large : Billboard Art Competition, One of three winners, Austin Visual Arts Association, Texas
1995 Third Biennial Gulf of Mexico Symposium Juried Art Show, Honorable Mention, Art Center of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas
1995 Margie Crisp, Prints, Drawings & Paintings, 1010 Gallery, Bastrop, Texas
1994 Offerings, Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas
1994 Dianne Grammer & Margie Crisp, Tarrytown Gallery, Austin, Texas
1994 One Person Exhibition, Lovegene Gallery, Marathon, Texas
1994 Drawings & Monotypes, Upper Crust Bakery, Austin, Texas
1994 Margie Crisp, Drawings & Monotypes, Hyde Park Bar & Grill, Austin, Texas
1992 Strike Editions, Monoprints-1992, Galeria Sin Fronteras, Austin, Texas
1991 Flatbed Press Christmas Show, Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas
1989 Intimate Images: Small Works on Paper, St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas

Awards and Honors

2002 Best Gallery Show, Dianne Grammer & Margie Crisp, The Austin Critics Table
2002 Serie Print Project, Coronado Studios, Austin, Texas
2001 Best Female Artist, Nomination, The Austin Critics Table
2001 Best Gallery Show, Nomination, Texas Landscapes: Six Women Artists, The Austin Critics Table
2000 Pearls Before Swine, Jurors' Recognition, Elgin, Texas
2000 WACOWS, The Art Center of Waco, winner of two design sponsorships for decoration of fiberglass cows
2000 23rd National Print Biennial, Juror’s Honorable Mention, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, Connecticut
1997 Pearls Before Swine, Jurors' Favorite Pearl (Best of Show), Elgin, Texas
1995 Pearls Before Swine, Jurors' Recognition, Elgin, Texas
1995 Counterpoint 1995, Edd R. Turner Memorial Award, Ingram, Texas
1995 Art @ Large: Billboard Art Competition, One of three winners, Austin Visual Arts Association, Texas
1995 Third Biennial Gulf of Mexico Symposium Juried Art Show, Honorable Mention, Corpus Christi, Texas

Professional Affiliations
1999-2011 Slugfest Printmaking Workshop, member
1998-1999 Women Printmakers of Austin, Chairperson
1997-1998 Women Printmakers of Austin, Co-Chair
Art School of the Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria, Instructor
Baylor University, Waco, Texas, Visiting Artist
Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas, printer and skilled assistant for print collaboration
Madrone Workshops, founding partner and instructor

Selected Public Collections

• Amity Foundation, Inc., Woodbridge, Connecticut

• Art in Public Places, Print Collection, Austin, Texas

• Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas

• Austin Museum of Art, Austin, Texas

• Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas

• Instituto des Artes Plasticos, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico

• Phoenix Arts Commission, Print Collection, Phoenix, Arizona

Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas
Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Texas
University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas

Margie Crisp

More by this artist