Dan Wingren: "Franciscans --Rome," 1958, Oil on Canvas

In the mid-1950s, Dan Wingren traveled to Europe and sketched images of towns and villages in France and Italy. In 1958, he was appointed director of the San Antonio Art Institute and taught painting at the McNay Art Museum (associated with the San Antonio Art Institute) until May 1961. He taught at Trinity University as a guest lecturer in the Fall semester in 1961. Wingren moved back to Dallas in May 1962 to paint full-time although in the Fall of that year he taught a design class at SMU. In 1963 and 1964, Wingren taught drawing and composition and oil painting at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts School and, in 1965, he began teaching full-time in the art department at SMU; he remained at the University until he retired in 1991. In 1971, Wingren was appointed Professor of Art; from 1969-1971 he served as Associate Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts. During his tenure at SMU, Wingren taught classes in art history (19th and 20th Century), design, drawing, and painting, and also conducted seminars on Contemporary Art topics.