Howard Taylor Officially Retires from San Angelo Museum

SAN ANGELO, TX — On August 1, 2023, Mr. Howard Taylor officially retired from the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts after 38 years. In January 2023, Howard Taylor stepped down from his role as President and CEO and took on an advisory role as Development Director and President Emeritus to help the transition to new leadership.

Under Mr. Taylor’s leadership, the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts became the only museum to have received the American Institute of Architects National Service Award. The museum also received the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Museum Service Award in a ceremony at the White House in 2003. Howard received the Texas Association of Museum’s President’s Award in 2004 and the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award in 2005. And on April 1, 2011 Howard accepted the John L. Nau III award for Excellence in Museums from the Texas Historical Commission.

“It has been my privilege to provide leadership and help build this deeply community-engaged museum and work with all the wonderful people I have come to know in San Angelo and the Concho Valley. I look forward to the continued progress and exciting future that I foresee for our museum,” said Mr. Taylor.

Howard Taylor’s successor, Alex Freeman, has been the President & CEO of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts since January 2023 and leads the vision, strategy, and operations of a dynamic and diverse cultural institution that showcases the artistic heritage and creativity of the Concho Valley and west Texas. He holds an MA in Art Education from the University of Texas at Austin and a Portfolio Certificate in Non-profit Management from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and has collaborated with and supported the professional development of museum professionals across Texas and beyond.

Freeman’s background includes leading the statewide Texas Association of Museums (TAM) since 2018, serving as an international educational technology researcher at the New Media Consortium from 2012 to 2017, and serving in education and curatorial positions at the Mexic-Arte Museum, Artpace San Antonio, and Blanton Museum of Art from 2007 to 2012. Freeman was recently appointed to the board of directors of Texans for the Arts (TFA), a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization.

Taylor was an institution in San Angelo. He greatly cared for San Angelo — and especially the arts in San Angelo —  and would pontificate for hours about a myriad of subjects, usually sprinkling a great deal of common sense into the subject. When the En Plein Air painting competition was first introduced in San Angelo, many had a difficult time grasping its importance to the area. For some, it was just an excuse or reason to see a lone artist sitting conspicuously in a public area downtown painting something, anything.

Taylor quickly grasped onto a message to market En Plein Air and explained the program quite clearly so that anyone could see its benefit.

"Yes they are painting something. But what is really important for you and me is that these artists are painting US!" Taylor would exclaim drawing a connection between the masses and what has become a SAMFA arts competition with worldwide significance, similar to the annual Ceramics Competition held here.

In 2014, San Angelo LIVE! broke a story about homoerotic art winning the annual ceramics competition. Many of the straight-laced SAMFA board members were horrified that a vase, titled “Cupcake Eaters”, won first prize at the National Ceramics Competition in 2014. The art on the vase was hidden during the exhibit by turning the erotic depiction of cupcakes and naked men to face the wall. Elderly ladies were witnessed holding their iPhone cameras behind the vase to snap a picture, however (according to our reporter at the scene).

“I use a lot of imagery from Tom of Finland, who has a lot of hardcore, homoerotic, gay imagery,” artist Wesley Harvey of San Antonio explained. An appropriated image from Tom of Finland could be seen on the side of the vase facing the wall, which features two detailed naked men and several cupcakes.

For Taylor, the he enjoyed the controversy. Barking like a true P.T. Barnum, Howard said any controversy is good marketing for the museum. Soon, the elites in charge of the museum board forgot all about the cupcakes but more of San Angelo learned there was a museum that had international impact. Taylor was correct.

San Angelo will miss Howard Taylor.

”I am extremely pleased that our Board engaged Alex [Freeman] as the individual they felt was ideally suited to sustain and help grow this very unique museum. We have gained broad recognition in the museum world for the quality of our exhibitions, programs and collections but also for the extraordinary level of community engagement and commitment to cultural diversity. I have known and admired Alex for many for his intelligence, creativity and people skills. He’s the right person for the job,” Taylor said. “I believe that under the new leadership of Alex Freeman, SAMFA is positioned to have a strong and dynamic future.”

In the video below, Joe Hyde and Howard Taylor enjoy a wide-ranging discussion of all things San Angelo, the arts and politics in 2021. The interview with Taylor starts at the 3:12 minute mark.