Trudy Sween

1929 - 2017

Trudy Sween

Corpus Christi, TX

Trudy Sween died on November 14, 2017 in Corpus Christi.

She is survived by her daughter, L. Brooke Sween-McGloin and son-in-law, Patrick McGloin of Del Mar, CA.

Trudy was born in Pittsburgh, PA on January 24, 1929. After high school, Trudy modeled and acted professionally in Pennsylvania, Florida, and New York City. Supporting herself with modeling but describing trying to find work in the theater as "an exciting but exhausting time", she decided to try her luck on the West Coast. Stopping in Dallas to stay with friends, she discovered that she loved it there and decided to stay.

At a Halloween party in 1956, she met Curtiss Sween and they married soon afterward. They had one child, Brooke. Curt worked for GE Medical Systems and they moved the young family from Dallas to Houston in 1958. Curt and Trudy divorced in 1971; Trudy never remarried.

Always a creative spirit, with an interest in art and design, Trudy studied art at the University of Houston and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her career as a visual artist took off with the inclusion of several of her works in a juried exhibit at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in 1965. Known primarily as an abstract-expressionist painter, she was also a photographer, sculptor of both small-scale and monumental steel sculptures, jewelry designer, theatrical set designer, film production designer, and published poet. In addition to four solo museum exhibits, her work has been exhibited internationally in 130 museums and galleries. In 1980, a series of 20 of her large paintings based on the Texas flag were exhibited in the rotunda of the Texas Capitol. Most recently, her work was included in the 2015 exhibit "Bayou City Chic: Progressive Streams of Modern Art in Houston" at the Art Museum of South Texas. Her papers are included in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution and her library monograph is at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Energetic and passionate about art, Trudy contributed her time, energy and talent to promoting art and artists. She was a founder of the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and served on its executive board for many years. She was a panelist, art exhibit curator, and the poster designer for the historic 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston. She was the artist/curator of the landmark 1979 exhibit "Doors: Houston Artists" and co-author of the exhibit catalog. While a member of the advisory board of the Houston Grand Opera she served as a liaison between the art community and the Opera and she helped provide an ongoing venue for the work of dozens of artists.

Craving a change and having an adventurous spirit, in 1993 Trudy moved briefly to Costa Rica and then to Phoenix where she designed and built a home/studio, which she described as "live-in sculpture". She moved to Corpus Christi in 2004 and never tired of the ever-changing vista of sea and sky from her home on the bay.

Her family wishes to thank Trudy's friends and neighbors, the staff of Holmgreen Center, Nurses on Wheels Hospice, and Visiting Angels for their care, comfort, and support.