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All books are completed with the help of many others , and this one is no exception. Without the kind assistance of a multitude of people who shared their love for and knowledge of Julian Onderdonk’s work and allowed us to study their collections of his work, this project would not have been possible. It is impossible to list them all but we are no less grateful for their contributions. First and foremost among those who helped to realize the dream this book represents is my beloved wife, Kimel Baker. Without her encouragement, patience, endurance, inspiration, and guidance there would have been no manuscript, much less a published book. She has been a cheerful and faithful partner in this process beginning with the preliminary idea and continuing through years of research involving thousands of miles of travel, followed by the process of writing and editing. It is only at her request that she is not listed as the co-author as she deserves. Readers will note that much is written in the plural “we” and Kimel has truly been the better half of that “we.” Sant Ajaib Singh, our spiritual teacher, has been the guide for my life, and taught me that our attention is the essence of our love and our being. To the degree that I have followed Sant Ajaib Singh’s counsel, my life has been immeasurably enriched and my ability to focus attention to accomplish this work has been enhanced. Without Sant Ajaib Singh the book would not exist, because I would have been a different person, incapable of writing it. I am sorry that my parents , Douglas and Penny Baker, did not live to see this book published, for it was in their laps that I learned the love of truth and beauty. Their love of art sowed the seed from which this book is the fruit. Any work on Julian Onderdonk must in large part be based on Cecilia Steinfeldt’s seminal biography of the family, The Onderdonks: A Family of Texas Painters. She made all of what is presented here possible. Not only am I grateful for her meticulous and outstanding scholarship, but also for being the one who introduced me and many others to the Onderdonks’ art and legacy. Our copy of Steinfeldt’s book, which was a gift from her, has been so loved and read that it is literally falling apart. It served as the foundation for our work, and we hope this book adds a bit to body of knowledge that Cecilia Steinfeldt established. She was indeed the grand lady of early Texas art studies. We are also grateful to her publisher, Trinity University Press, for allowing us to reproduce several illustrations from her book. I am particularly grateful to the Texas State Historical Association and its staff for undertaking the publication of this book. Kent Calder, Executive Director, has been supportive and helpful from the beginning. Ryan Schumacher, Associate Editor, worked hard to insure that both format and text would do us all justice. Susan Walters Schmid, of Teton Editorial Services, deserves the lion’s share of the credit for turning a rambling, repetitive, and unorganized manuscript into a readable book. Above and beyond the call of duty, Susan took a scatter of unformatted notes and insisted that every detail from the research be documented in an orderly manner. I am particularly grateful to J. P. Bryan for his early and earnest support for this project and for his writing of the foreword. J. P.’s keen understanding of early Texas and its artists is clearly manifested in the collection of items related to the settling of the American Southwest that he has assembled at Torch Energy. His support of this project involved both early advocacy for the book and financial contributions to the research and publication. Dr. Ron Tyler also was an early supporter and recommender of the book’s publication. He agreed to curate the Witte Museum’s exhibition of Julian Acknowledgements The grandchildren of Julian Onderdonk and Gertrude Shipman Onderdonk: Robert Julian Onderdonk, II; Eleanor Onderdonk Limpert; and Elizabeth Onderdonk Morgan. Baker pages final_FCID.pdf 9 12/26/13 1:22 PM Julian Onderdonk in New York| x | Onderdonk’s New York period works that will coincide with the books release. Dr. Tyler is a most knowledgeable and respected scholar of Texas history and it has been an honor to work with him on this project. Julian Onderdonk’s grandchildren have been especially gracious in...

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