henry lawrence came to corpus christi and 1838. he encouraged the smuggling through the area and avoid the customs that required. he saw an opportunity because it was known as a place where you could avoid the rush of the cities and get any goods you needed a cross the border. the mexicans were going to go to war. he saw it as an opportunity. he was always in touch with the leaders of mexico and america, and served in congress. when the time came that they knew the war was nearing, he petitioned the government to send the army to corpus christi to wait out the war. zachary taylor's army camp in the region between the rio grande -- the strip between the two rivers caused the outbursts of anger to cause the mexican-american war. it was the campground for or thousand men, half of the army at the time. they were all here. after the war was over, henry mckinney, came back to corpus christi and was trying to make it a thriving city. the first texas state fair happen in 1852, seven years before the series affairs that we know today. about

henry lawrence from south carolina. he'd listen to them. he'd listen to the more senior people. and as president it was the same way. he invented the cabinet for that reason. can you imagine -- doris kerns goodwin, another great rival, writes about "team of rivals." whatever you want to say about his team of rivals, immaterial doesn't match having jefferson and hamilton in the same cabinet. and then you add henry knox and then you add in randolph from virginia. you talk about a team of rivals pulling them together, because washington would listen to them. he would listen to them and get advice to them. and so there's another thing about the cabinet in the -- nothing about the cabinet in the constitution, but he invents it because that's the way he was a general. he was also that during the runup to the constitutional convention. he would listen to others. and james madison had asked thomas jefferson to find him all the books he could find about constitutionalism, as it were, and send them to him. and james madison was a bookish sort of person. he was one of the sort of people wh

henry lawrence from south carolina. he'd listen to them. he'd listen to the more senior people. and as president it was the same way. he invented the cabinet for that reason. can you imagine -- doris kerns goodwin, another great rival, writes about "team of rivals." whatever you want to say about his team of rivals, immaterial doesn't match having jefferson and hamilton in the same cabinet. and then you add henry knox and then you add in randolph from virginia. you talk about a team of rivals pulling them together, because washington would listen to them. he would listen to them and get advice to them. and so there's another thing about the cabinet in the -- nothing about the cabinet in the constitution, but he invents it because that's the way he was a general. he was also that during the runup to the constitutional convention. he would listen to others. and james madison had asked thomas jefferson to find him all the books he could find about constitutionalism, as it were, and send them to him. and james madison was a bookish sort of person. he was one of the sort of people wh

. >> this includes work by artists like henry cantor, jacob lawrence. >> reporter: you'll see everythingre find, decorative art created centuries ago by slaves to abstract paintings and sculptures. >> there is a lot of artists from this area as well and that is something we like to highlight within the exhibition itself. >> reporter: museum started its collection with a purchase of henry tanners annunciation. >> first work by african-american artist to be acquired by a major museum in this country. it was painted in 1898 and this museum acquired it the the following year. >> reporter: since then the museum has invested in many more works by african-american artist new catalogue is designed to guide visitors through the the vast collection. >> it includes four major essays about a variety of themes, including decorative arts, self-taught artists, modern and contemporary art. we will be able to look at them closely and intimately it is really a wonderful experience and that is what we're here to do for our visitors. >> reporter: represent 200 years of african-american art runs through apri

this includes work um by artists like uh henry tanner, horace pippen, jacob lawrence, um alma thomas, barbara chase riboud and artists who are still um very active and, and >> beginning with works of art from both enslaved and freed african americans during the 19th century, the exhibition transitions into the harlem renaissance and then into more contemporary forms of art. >> we have works from the uh, the 40's the 50's the 60's, many of them abstract pieces. black artists, just like other artists um, uh not of african descent um were interested in exploring abstraction as a way to communicate their feelings, their emotions and sometimes their politics. >> all of the artwork in the exhibit comes from the museum's permanent collection. this piece, regularly on view, is henry tanner's annunciation. >> it's the first work by an african american artist to be acquired by a major museum in >> one of the reasons why tanner is able to create his work is because john wanamaker of wanamaker's department store you know helped support him. it really shows the commitment that this city had to sup

henry lawrence from south carolina. he'd listen to them. he'd listen to the more senior people. and as president it was the same way. he invented the cabinet for that reason. can you imagine -- doris kerns goodwin, another great rival, writes about "team of rivals." whatever you want to say about his team of rivals, immaterial doesn't match having jefferson and hamilton in the same cabinet. and then you add henry knox and then you add in randolph from virginia. you talk about a team of rivals pulling them together, because washington would listen to them. he would listen to them and get advice to them. and so there's another thing about the cabinet in the -- nothing about the cabinet in the constitution, but he invents it because that's the way he was a general. he was also that during the runup to the constitutional convention. he would listen to others. and james madison had asked thomas jefferson to find him all the books he could find about constitutionalism, as it were, and send them to him. and james madison was a bookish sort of person. he was one of the sort of people wh