Jan Statman

Jan Statman, a longtime Longview resident, community leader and supporter of the arts was more than a painter. She wrote numerous books, poetry, newspaper columns and created and hosted the cable access show, Scene, which featured the many facets of the arts community in Longview and East Texas.

Statman was fond of saying, "I am an artist. I make art." She was a member of the National Association of Women Artists, and her work included two-dimensional work such as acrylic paintings, watercolors, mixed media, collage, drawings, and printmaking. The New York City native received her bachelor of arts degree from New York City's Hunter College where she studied with Twentieth-Century American masters, Robert Motherwell, William Baziotes and Richard Lippold. She was listed in Who's Who in Amercian Art, Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in Arts and the Dictionary of International Biography.

Her paintings have been exhibited in one-artist shows in museums and galleries across the country and are exhibited by The Artist's Gallery in Longview and the SKS Gallery of Dallas. Her works also are on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art-Alto Aragon en Huesca in Spain, Civic Museum of Contemporary Art-Sasso Ferrato in Italy, and Longview Museum of Fine Arts.

In February 2016, her book "Wildfire Heart" was published, and remains on sale at Amazon.com. In fact, Statman held 36 Texas Press Women writing awards, three National Federation of Press Women awards and a National Women's Political Caucus and Radcliffe College award. She authored or co-authored at least four published books. She also wrote columns for the Longview News-Journal and The Dallas Morning News.

If you wish to honor her memory, please support the local arts. Go to a museum, buy some artwork, encourage creativity in children.