The Best Art Gifts: 19 Presents That Will Be Unlike Anything Else Under the Tree

This season’s Art Gift Guide reflects what we are thinking about now:

— Supporting and acquiring Texas artists — from a talent that makes painting and drawings inspired by the humble paperclip to an unexpected discovery right in the PaperCity offices.

— Art books with texture including those that reveal layers of history — and in one case, a literary debut by well-known Dallas sculptor Darryl Lauster. Also the story of an overlooked women painter, the late Elaine de Kooning, who receives her due in a must-read volume. (Unravel the Texas connection to Ms. de Kooning here.)

— The feminist show of the year — that took place in the unexpected art enclave of College Station. Check out photographic artist Parry Carroll’s thought process here. The images are even more topical today than when they were created. Gift one to your fave suffragette.

An ongoing and unabated quest for Pop art. At the top of the list is Houston artist Henri Gadbois’ famous faux-food sculptures — alluringly collectible (but regrettably, not edible).

— Photography, especially by American talents. MoMA-exhibited lensman Stephen Shore is a standout — a former Warhol Factory insider, the photographer portrayed America’s blank promise in the decade of the 1970s, crafting deadpan and banal images of surprising innocence and beauty. Owning a Shore print is a rite of passage for a photography collector.

We’re also revisiting a musical artist who got his start in the 1970s, thanks to a great boxed set of Tom Petty in concert —  and discovering a rich current of romance and the original dream of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Decades later, his first hit, heard in a live version on this CD sampler, still reverberates. (Perfect for PaperCity‘s music guru, millennial Matthew Ramirez.)

Animal rescue, and community engagement (with a dose of art tossed into the latter). Two of our fave nonprofits make for feel-good gifting — Friends for Life and the mighty Mystic Lyon. And Houston photographer Allison Hunter addresses ideas of cloning and animal rights, in a series with crossover appeal, from scientists to animal activists to art collectors.

Adorable alien space babies ready for adoption — a concept that may be the next “Build a Bear” has landed in Houston. Get lost in the inventive, Sci-Fi world of Distroller, which also possesses tremendous Pop appeal.

Kimonos are all the rage, promulgated by Houston’s own Kimono Zulu. Best bet Katharine Kearns (aka Katsola) who seeks inspiration in a mash-up of vintage kimonos and her best design ever — one which celebrates Houston Astros fever. Perfect for the fashionista ‘Stros fan.

Finally, this writer is always purse crazy. Handbags are both sculpture and function. What to gift to a maven headed to the Dallas Art Fair — a Moschino lunchbox purse, with a nifty Little Pony theme, proving that high and low are forever intertwined.