We mark the passing of James Harithas, co-founder of the Art Car Museum and Station Museum in Houston, and a legend in contemporary art in Texas, the United States, and the world. To those who knew and worked with him, he was an extraordinary man – a complex, fiercely dedicated intellectual of the highest order and one of our preeminent art curators and scholars.
After spending his youth in the rubble and reconstruction of Germany after WWII, James developed a social consciousness and sense of justice that he combined with an uncanny ability to find and nurture creativity in artists at all stages of their careers. He mentored not just artists, but entire artists’ communities and movements. A prominent example is how he focused on bringing Texas artists into the forefront starting in the 1970s when they were getting little attention in major museums.
James approached art with a discerning and critical perspective. He intensely focused on the social and political ramifications of art, with an unwavering belief that art matters to individuals, to society, and to our systems of living. His innovative curatorial approach echoes in the institutions he co-founded with Ann Harithas, as well as those he advised and the curators whom he taught.
He lived fearlessly and acted relentlessly on his belief in people. Whether taking on the establishment of the art world or taking artists on self-guided trips through war zones for humanitarian purposes, he lived the largest of lives, and left a lasting mark on this world.