The Spirit Of The Wittliff In 40 Items

SAN MARCOS, TX - The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University announces the opening of The Spirit of The Wittliff in 40 Objects exhibition celebrating its 40th anniversary year. The new exhibits gathers 40 unique, fascinating objects from archives of the Southwest Writers Collection, Texas Music Collection, and Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection from 1986-2026. Together, these objects tell the story of The Wittliff’s mission and spirit of place. 

From the guitar pick used by Stevie Ray Vaughan at his last concert to correspondence between writer Elizabeth Crook and Jackie Onassis, her editor at Doubleday, the exhibit showcases the breadth and depth of The Wittliff Collections holdings of the Southwest’s most significant creative artists. Visitors may also sit at the desk where author Cormac McCarthy wrote his novels.

The Wittliff Collections was founded in 1986 when screenwriter and photographer Bill Wittliff and his wife, Sally, donated their growing archive of Southwestern literary manuscripts—starting with the papers of Texas folklorist J. Frank Dobie—to the university’s library, creating what was then the Southwestern Writers Collection. 

Over the decades, The Wittliff expanded to include Southwestern & Mexican photography and the Texas Music Collection. The renowned research center, archive and museum preserves and shares the cultural heritage and stories of Texas, the Southwest and Mexico through primary materials spanning writing, photography, music, and film. Today, The Wittliff Collections is home to more than 500 collections used worldwide by scholars, authors, documentary filmmakers, educators, students and the public for research and inspiration. 

Among the significant holdings are the archives of major writers, musicians and photographers. They include the journals, correspondence and the unpublished manuscripts of Cormac McCarthy, Sandra Cisneros and poet Benjamín Alire Sáenz. Music collections range from the music fashion of Selena Quintanilla Perez to the journals and handwritten lyrics of Shawn Colvin, Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson. Bill Wittliff championed photographers and his passion is reflected in the preserved works of Graciela Iturbide, Keith Carter and Rodrigo Moya.

The Wittliff Collections will celebrate its 40th Anniversary throughout 2026 with public events, exhibitions and announcements of new major acquisitions and future plans. 

For inquiries about the 40th anniversary exhibit and a curated tour of The Spirit of The Wittliff in 40 Objects, email literary curator Carrie Fountain at carriefountain@txstate.edu. For all other inquiries, contact marketing and promotions coordinator Mark Willenborg via email at markw@txstate.edu or phone at (512) 245-1442.