Marker at Sacred Heart Honors Life of Catholic artist

 

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Father Angel Montana, the pastor of Sacred Heart Church, holds up the flag after unveiling the new historical marker honoring the late Antonio E. Garcia outside the church on April 29. Pictured with him, from left are Ana Davis, Dr. Carey Rote and Rose Garcia.

Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic
 

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Father Angel Montana delivered the invocation and blessing after the unveiling of a new historical marker, honoring the late Antonio E. Garcia outside Sacred Heart Church on April 29. 

The Nueces County Historical Commission members Anita H. Eisenhauer, Debbie Zuniga and Carey Rote, Ph.D. were responsible for delivering the dedication and choosing the site for the marker. About 100 people attended the event. Garcia’s daughters Ana Davis and Rose Garcia were also in attendance.

Father Angel Montana, the pastor of Sacred Heart Church, holds up the flag after unveiling the new historical marker honoring the late Antonio E. Garcia outside the church on April 29. Pictured with him, from left are Ana Davis, Dr. Carey Rote and Rose Garcia. Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic

Antonio Garcia was a skilled artist, whose career spanned more than 50 years. The artist left his mark in the frescoes and murals he was commissioned to paint in several churches and chapels throughout South Texas. He also dedicated his life to art education.

His paintings include the Sacred Heart of Jesus and stories of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which adorn the walls inside Sacred Heart Church. He painted them over a two-year period during the early 1940s. He was also a member of Sacred Heart Church.

According to his daughter Ana Davis, her father didn’t paint the religious pieces for notoriety or financial gain. “I think that the artwork in churches was done out of the love of the church,” Davis said. “He cared about having it done for God.” 

Antonio Garcia’s works include a 44-foot tall fresco depicting the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which was Davis’ favorite of her father’s creations. The 1960 mural can be viewed in the Immaculate Conception chapel at St. John Paul II High School. 

Although Antonio Garcia displayed his skill and talent early on, Davis recalls that her father’s pursuit of higher education was not entirely successful. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago but was unable to obtain a degree because the program changed from three years to four years and he did not have the money to finish.

His 1946 fresco “Mexican Annunciation” can be found inside Our Lady of Loreto Chapel at Presidio La Bahia in Goliad. The Goliad Massacre of Colonel James Fannin and his troops occurred at the Spanish fort during the Texas Revolution in 1836. The site became a National Historic Landmark in 1967.

Among Antonio Garcia’s secular works is “Juneteenth Revue” that he painted in 1939, and is part of the permanent collection at the Art Museum of South Texas, and the 1933 mural “March on Washington” now on display at the Duval County Historical Museum in San Diego, TX.

He taught at Del Mar College for more than 20 years and was a founding member of the South Texas Art League.

Davis remembers as a child going every summer to Saltillo, Mexico where Garcia would teach drawing classes in a park. Through her father, Davis developed an appreciation of art, nature and scenery there and in hometown Corpus Christi.

“He would take us to the T-heads after Mass and we would go down by where the Art Center of Corpus Christi is now and watch the ships come in,” Davis said. “I still do that today.”

Davis later studied art and took an art history class from one of her father’s former students.

The South Texas Institute for the Arts renamed in 1998, the Antonio E. Garcia Arts & Education Center, is supported in partnership with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The center provides educational opportunities, including a free after-school program, in arts and literacy for everyone in the community. The center also offers family services and counseling.

According to an article published by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times on April 25, blindness forced Garcia into retirement during the 1980s. He passed away in 1997.

Davis sees the marker as a sign that people acknowledge and appreciate what Garcia did for the community. Unveiling it was a special moment for her.

“I’ve always known that he was a great artist,” Davis said. “It indicates that they cared about what he did, about him and about his work.”