McNay Art Museum facts for kids
Entrance to the original McNay home and museum.
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| Established | 1950 |
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| Location | 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave. San Antonio, Texas  United States |
| Type | Art Museum |
The McNay Art Museum is a cool place in San Antonio, Texas. It opened in 1954 and was the very first museum in Texas just for modern art. It all started with a generous gift from a woman named Marion Koogler McNay. She loved art and wanted to share her amazing collection with everyone.
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About the McNay Art Museum
Marion Koogler McNay was an American painter and art teacher. She inherited a lot of money from her father, who was in the oil business. She used her money to collect beautiful artworks. When she passed away, she gave most of her money and her art collection to start this museum.
The museum is located in her old home. It's a large, beautiful house built in 1927. The house is designed in a style called Spanish Colonial Revival. This means it looks like old Spanish homes. The house sits on 23 acres (about 9.3 hectares) of land. This land has pretty fountains, big green lawns, and a special Japanese-inspired garden with a fishpond.
What You Can See
The McNay Art Museum mainly shows art from the 1800s and 1900s. You can see paintings and sculptures by famous artists. Some of these artists include Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and Henri Matisse. American artists like Georgia O'Keeffe, Diego Rivera, Mary Cassatt, and Edward Hopper are also featured.
Today, the museum has over 20,000 art pieces. It is known as one of the best collections of modern art in the Southwestern United States. The museum also has the Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts. This is a very special collection about plays, costumes, and stage design. There's also a big library with over 30,000 books for people to learn more about art.
New Spaces for Art
In 2008, the McNay Art Museum added a new building. It's called the Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions. This new part was designed by architect Jean-Paul Viguier. It's a big building, about 45,000 square feet (about 4,180 square meters).
This center has bright, open rooms for special art shows. It also has a glass-fronted room where you can see sculptures from the museum's collection. There are spaces for art made on paper and special cases for small objects. The center also has a lecture hall and learning rooms. The new building looks modern, but its design fits well with the old Spanish-style mansion next to it.
Collection highlights
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Master of Frankfurt, Saint Barbara. 1460 ca. 32.1 x 22.8 cm. Oil on panel.
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Master of Frankfurt, Saint Catherine. 1460 ca. 32.4 x 21.7 cm. Oil on panel.
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Head of Christ (ca. 1579), El Greco, Head of Christ. 1579 ca. 50.5 x 38.9 cm. Oil on canvas.
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Odilon Redon, Profile and Flowers. 1912. 70.2 x 55.2 cm. Pastel on paper.
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Amedeo Modigliani, Girl with Blue Eyes. 1918. 61 x 46.4 cm. Oil on canvas.
See also
- William J. Chiego, director (1991–2016)
