Alamo diorama finds home in Dallas
Pennsylvania artist’s 14-by-24-foot canvas features more than 2,000 handcrafted miniatures
DALLAS — The Battle of the Alamo took place in 1836 and played a pivotal role in Texas becoming its own nation, before emerging as the 28th state in 1845. But 186 years after the battle with Mexico, the Alamo remains a source of mystery and intrigue for millions.
Not to mention controversy. For one, when most people think of the Alamo, they think of the mission façade, which remains a major national landmark in San Antonio. The truth is the battle and the grounds of the Alamo occupied a much larger land mass, upon which more than 2,000 people fought and about 500 died, according to Stephen Harrigan, author of the widely celebrated book “The Gates of the Alamo,” published in 2000.
For those wanting to know more, the Dallas Historical Society last month unveiled at the Hall of State in Dallas’ Fair Park a major exhibition that documents the full scope of the 13-day battle. It occupies a 14-by-24-foot canvas in the basement of the building, featuring more than 2,000 handcrafted miniatures.
“The name of this diorama is ‘Texas Liberty Forever: The Battle of the Alamo,’ ” says Karl Chiao, executive director of the Dallas Historical Society, which has occupied the Hall of State as a tenant since 1938.
The sweeping diorama, which the Hall of State hopes will lure thousands of visitors to Fair Park, is the creation of an artist named Thomas Feely, whom Chiao describes as a 75-year-old who “lives in the woods” in rural Pennsylvania.
Feely began assembling the diorama in 2000, which means by the time it was trucked to the Hall of State, he had been working on it for more than two decades.
With the pandemic forcing the cancellation of the State Fair of Texas in 2020, Chiao and exhibits manager Toby Hazelip took a road trip to transport Feely’s Alamo from the backwoods of Pennsylvania to Fair Park.
Chiao’s curiosity had been aroused in December 2018, “when I got a call from a guy who said, ‘There’s the potential of you having this amazing thing in Dallas.’ ”
That man is Rick Range, who lives in Dallas and belongs to the Alamo Society.
“I’ve got a friend named Tom Feely,” Range told Chiao. “And he has built a diorama of the Battle of the Alamo.”
Range laid out the particulars. “It is 1/54th scale. It is 14 feet by 24 feet. It has more than 2,000 hand-painted figures.” And then he said, “This was supposed to go the Alamo,” but …
“Because of issues Feely had” with Alamo management, Range told Chiao, “he was thinking of throwing it away. I told him, ‘You can’t do that. It’s your life’s work. It might not go to San Antonio, but I know there’s a place for it somewhere in Texas.’ ”
In 1983, Feely made a 4-footby-6-foot diorama that, for years, occupied a niche at the Alamo. He had made it for the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, which once managed the Alamo, whose stewardship Land Commissioner George P. Bush ended in favor of his own state agency.
After the Daughters of the Republic left the building, Chiao says, so did Feely’s smaller diorama.
Harrigan, whose book on the Alamo has been widely hailed by all sides, mentioned Feely in the pages of Texas Monthly in 2000 and praised his work, in particular his earlier, smaller diorama shown at the Alamo. “A spirited diorama of the final assault by Thomas Feely,” Harrigan wrote, “should not be missed.”
In 2003, Texas Monthly writer Caroline Harper added her praise:
“One of the most dramatic exhibits in this building,” Harper wrote, “is a large diorama depiction of the Battle of the Alamo, constructed by Thomas F. Feely Jr. The model is replete with exquisite detail including tiny Mexican and Texan soldiers, trees, guns, cannons, and even smoke made from cotton.”
And, of course, that diorama was merely a sneak peek of what the Hall of State will unveil.
Officials at the Alamo say they, too, are intrigued.
“We are dedicated to telling the story of the battle of 1836,” Alamo spokesman Jonathan Huhn said in a statement shared with the Dallas Morning News. “The battle was a brutal conflict where hundreds of Texans gave their lives for a single ideal — liberty.
“Mr. Feely’s diorama is a fantastic depiction of the battle. We sincerely hope that once the museum and visitors center is completed, that the Alamo will have the room available to display such large works of historical art.”