Peggy Westbrook
1 Oral History and 58 Photographs
A2019-019
1890-1945 (unknown)
Peggy Westbrook was born Peggy Wright in 1931 in Luling, Texas. She was born into an oil family living in oil field camps throughout South Texas when growing up. She also experienced what life was like for a civilian during World War II. Having to deal with rations, going to Mexico to get goods they couldn’t get in the States, having blackouts at night because of German U-Boats in the Gulf of Mexico, and her interactions with German-Americans. Peggy met her husband, Richard Westbrook, when she was 18 and married at 19. He was an oilman himself and they lived and worked in the Kelsey Bass Camp in 1951. They had three children together: Ann, Ricki, and Richard Jr., known as Chip. Richard was in oil exploration so this resulted in Peggy living in Australia and Alaska. She enjoyed these new experiences and was active in local organizations learning the culture. She started taking art classes at Texas A&I around 1951 and became friends with Dolores Price and Emily Rutland. There she experimented with many types of mediums such as oils, acrylics, and pastels. Peggy preferred the acrylics because of the fast dry time and uses an acrylic type base for her famous Santas. She is also an accomplished drawer using pastels and pencils for her portraits. She likes to draw portraits in part of the challenges presented of faces and emotions. Peggy has painted thousands of Santas with her first one done in 1971. She has never advertised and has received all of her customers through word of mouth. Peggy has always encouraged her children and grandchildren to draw. Her granddaughter, Jacki Westbrook, has picked up the mantle and has started painting Santas and has started taking orders herself.
The collection contains one oral history of Peggy Westbrook where Peggy talks about growing up in Texas and marrying an oilman, Richard Westbrook. Due to Richard’s job, they lived in Australia, Alaska, and Texas. Peggy describes her live long passion with art and how she was able to take care of her three children and still prefect her artwork. The rest of the collection consists of 58 photographs detailing those live events with several photographs of her Santa’s Workshop and the Santa’s she makes for her customers.
The collection is arranged in series and subseries: Series I: Oral History Series II: Photographs Subseries: Peggy’s Childhood Photos Subseries: Peggy’s Early Marriage Photos Subseries: Australia Subseries: Alaska Subseries: Kingsville Subseries: Family Photographs Subseries: Peggy Westbrook’s Santa Workshop Subseries: Various Santas Subseries: Peggy Westbrook’s Paintings and Drawings Subseries: Peggy Westbrook’s Connor Museum Exhibit Subseries: Peggy Westbrook
South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Open for Research
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Peggy Westbrook Collection, A2019-019.XXXX, South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
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A2019-019 – Gift of Peggy Westbrook
Oral interview was done in February, 2019. The collection was processed by Daniel Thacker in March of 2019. Original photographs were given back to Peggy Westbrook. The Finding Aid was created and EAD document encoded by Daniel Thacker in March of 2019.