• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published May 28, 2008 at 9:55 a.m., updated May 28, 2008 at 9:55 a.m.

The essence of a community lies with its people.

In an effort to capture the essence of Victoria, a new art exhibit will combine the portraits and oral histories of some of the city’s most influential residents.

The project, “Portraits of Victoria,” was a collaboration between the Victoria Regional Museum Association and photographer Buddy Lee, museum director Denise Roussel said. The exhibit centers around 10 Victoria icons and includes portraits taken by Lee and a video presentation of interviews that will play continuously in the gallery. The museum association is also self-publishing a 63-page book for the project.

“People are who the city is and this project was our effort to capture Victoria through these 10 icons,” Roussel said. “Along with Buddy Lee’s beautiful portraits, it will feature oral histories in which these icons talk candidly about their lives in Victoria throughout the past century.”

Roussel added the project began when Lee told her he had started taking pictures of people in Victoria he considered to be icons. The two decided to work together on the project and employed the help of videographer Matt Sawyers and museum education coordinator Veronica Martinez.

“Lee’s job is to tell us who that person is in only one image, and he has definitely accomplished that with these portraits,” Roussel said. “And Matt and Veronica did a great job putting together the oral histories for both the video and the book.”

The icons featured in the exhibit come from a smattering of different backgrounds, Roussel added. There is 86-year-old Lee Durst, who is still a tennis champion and travels the country to play in national tournaments. There is Jim DeLeon, who is the oldest living descendant of the city’s founder, Martin DeLeon, and Polly Lou Livingston, who Roussel describes as a “living legend.”

The other icons featured are Henry Hauschild, Mary Francis McCall, Harold Cade, Harold Nichols, Beatrice Trevino, Kerry McCan and Mary Sue Nelson.

Of the 10 icons, only seven could be interviewed. Hauschild has passed away and Trevino and McCall were both in bad health.

The exhibit opens Thursday with a public reception and runs through July 13. For more information, call 361-575-8227.

Aprill Brandon is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6514 or abrandon@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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