Texas History Artist Gary Zaboly Presents Once-in-a-lifetime Lecture at the Alamo
On February 28, the Alamo hosted renowned Texas history artist Gary Zaboly for a once-in-a-lifetime session on his Alamo art and research. This rare lecture from the person British Rock Star Phil Collins calls “one of the foremost graphics artists of Texas history,” was seen by a sold-out crowd in Alamo Hall. Zaboly treated them to a detailed explanation of why he took an interest in the Alamo as a young boy and how he became one of the most important voices in the Texas history community.
“As you all know, it is hard to pick up anything about the Alamo and not see Gary’s work in it,” the Alamo’s Curator, Dr. Bruce Winders, told the crowd in Alamo Hall. “He’s become, in my mind, the official artist of the Texas Revolution,” Dr. Winders added.
Gary Zaboly has been an artist and illustrator for over 30 years and has maintained a fondness for Alamo-related projects. He deftly illustrated some of the most important works on the subject of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution, including, Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution by Stephen L. Hardin; Sacrificed at the Alamo: Tragedy and Triumph in the Texas Revolution by Alamo Curator Dr. Bruce Winders; Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege and Battle by Alan C. Huffines and Phil Collin’s own The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector’s Journey. During the lecture, Gary gave a behind-the-scenes look into his research and his process when creating art for the Texas Revolution.
Zaboly’s obsession with the Alamo started when he was a child in the 1950’s.
“For a long time, I grew up thinking I was the only person obsessed with the Alamo,” Zaboly told the audience. “It wasn’t until the mid-1980’s that I discovered there are actually hoards of Alamo buffs, not only across the United States but overseas as well. Even singer Phil Collins was among their number, who knew?”
How does a four year-old boy living in the Northeast United States become a fan of the Alamo? Gary says “the credit goes to Walt Disney,” for the 1954 mini-series Davy Crockett.
“Thanks to Fess Parker’s charismatic portrayal of Davy Crockett, the Disney TV series become a nationwide craze. It spawned an entire, future crop of Alamo historians, artists and reenactors,” Zaboly said. “Even before Davy Crockett came along I was already a frontier buff thanks to TV western stories such as The Lone Ranger and The Roy Rogers Show. They inspired me to draw my own original western stories on index cards,” Gary confessed.
Over the course of three decades, Gary Zaboly’s artwork has been used in several Alamo exhibits, including our 2018 special exhibit Fortress Alamo: The Key to Texas. His detailed representations of the Alamo as it stood in 1836 and images of Texians, Tejanos and Mexican Soldados have aided countless historians, interpreters, students and history enthusiasts in their studies.
Gary credits the community of Alamo historians, researchers and enthusiasts for continuing to engage today’s youth in learning about history.
“Things are becoming Star Trek-y in Alamo-ville,” Zaboly said. “Like Trekkies, Alamo people often dress up like their favorite characters, they recall lines of dialogue from the Alamo movies and they’ve also collected a lot of merchandise over the decades. Science-fantasy is one thing but to inspire youngsters in history, however you do that, that is an achievement. That is something to aim for.”
