TYLER, TX.- A unique vision will be the spotlight as the Tyler Museum of Art opens 2009 with a new exhibition, Nature Under Pressure: Etchings & Lithographs by William B. Montgomery.

The exhibition, organized by the TMA, opens to the public Sunday, Jan. 4 and continue through Feb. 8, 2009 in the Museum’s North Gallery. Admission to the exhibition is free.

William B. Montgomery was born in Tyler in 1953 to former mayor J.R. “Bob” Montgomery and author Rosalis Montgomery, and raised in East Texas. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and the University of New Mexico as the foundation for a career that has spanned more than three decades of exhibitions throughout the U.S., including Dallas’ Valley House Gallery and Clifford Gallery, San Antonio’s McNay Art Museum, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, and a 1988 solo show at the TMA.

Nature Under Pressure celebrates a quarter-century of variations on Montgomery’s recurring theme of animal life in situations ranging from the bucolic to the bizarre – with particular emphasis on the reptile etchings for which the artist has received his widest acclaim. The TMA exhibition encompasses works ranging from 1983’s Reptile House – Corallus to 2008’s Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, punctuated by surrealistic snapshots of other creatures such as fish (1981’s The Grinnel), birds (2002’s Adventures in Paradise) and even crustaceans (2000’s Limulus Christus, State II).

“Sharing the contributions of Texas artists, particularly native East Texans, is an absolutely essential part of the Museum’s mission,” Ms. Tomio said. “That’s why we devote time in the exhibition schedule to showcase the work of a unique Texas talent such as Bill Montgomery. Of course, his influence extends well beyond our state’s borders, but we’re particularly proud to call him one of our own. It’s no coincidence that the Museum has several of Bill’s works in its Permanent Collection.”

TMA members are invited to meet the artist during a reception and gallery talk scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9 at the Museum. Special events open to non-members in conjunction with the exhibition includes a First Friday Art Tour at 11 a.m. on Feb. 6. Tour admission is free, but reservations are requested by calling (903) 595-1001.