Book excerpt: Texas Abstract: Modern / Contemporary examines the development, establishment, and continued presence of abstraction in the art scene in Texas. Texas Abstract begins with a section that discusses the context of modernist abstraction and its place in the history of Texas art. The state's first abstract painters appeared in the late 1930s and into the 1940s. By the 1950s and 1960s, abstraction had been accepted by many of the most significant Texas artists working at that time. The book also includes a series of chapters devoted to individual contemporary abstractionists currently active in Texas. These artists have embraced in their efforts the wide range of cutting-edge abstract styles of our time. These contemporary abstractions are more international in their outlook than were those of earlier Texas artists, and thus Texas is today an important place for contemporary abstraction.