Watson, Willard [The Texas Kid] (1921–1995).Willard “The Texas Kid” Watson, was born on June 17, 1921 in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. He was the son of L. T. and Mary Liza (Frazier) Watson and grew up in a large family. His paternal grandparents were once slaves in Louisiana, and his maternal relations came to Louisiana via Mississippi after emancipation. Williard’s oldest brother moved to Dallas, and by 1928 the rest of the family joined him.

In Dallas, Watson attended school until he was fourteen, then he began to contribute to the family income. he frequented the Deep Ellum area of Dallas and fell into a number of business opportunities from pimping, gambling, hustling and other menacing jobs. Watson was nearly shot and stabbed multiple times, but he was no stranger to rowdy behavior.
He was married seven times and once said, “When your wife starts shooting at you, turn sideways and you’ll cut her target in half.”

In WWII, Watson served in the United States Army and was stationed in the southwestern Pacific. He was discharged as a disabled veteran (with severe headaches) in 1944.
Upon return from service, he married his last wife, Elnora, and they remained married for nearly twenty-eight years (until his death) and operated small fix-it shop and upholstery business.
His persona as the “Texas Kid” developed about 1968 while visiting relatives inOklahoma and regularly attending Frontier Days, an annual event that required all guests to wear traditional Western gear. “I would make a new outfit every year for us to wear; I’d sew them myself. They would be really showy and attention-getting; when I’d walk up, Elnora’s people would shout: ‘Here comes the Kid from Texas.’”

Watson was an artist whose memory, dreams, spirituality, and life circumstances provided the inspiration for his art making. He used objects and materials sourced directly from his daily life. He learned to sew from his mother and had a history of customizing clothing into one-of-a-kind fashions. He loved to draw and paint scenes from his life and these pieces became his form of storytelling.

Beginning in 1975, Willard started decorating the lawn of his home with sculptures of wood, rocks, and other natural elements.
His 1968 Ford truck was an art object itself with pairs of horns jutting out and photographs adhered to the side.

In 1978 his work was first included in a museum exhibition, Texas Native Artists at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. Other museum exhibits include,The Eyes of Texas: An Exhibition of Living Texas Folk Artists, University of Houston, 1980; and Rambling on My Mind: Black Folk Art of the Southwest, at the Museum of African-American Life and Culture of Dallas, and Spirited Journeys, Self Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century at the University of Texas in 1996. Watson’s Life Cycle series in the permanent collection at the Dallas Museum of Art..

Willard Watson, who suffered from emphysema in his later years, died at age seventy-three in Dallas on June 12, 1995. He left behind many friends, supporters and a full life in artwork.