kids encyclopedia robot

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston logo.svg
MFA houston.jpg
Watkin Building
Established 1900
Location 1001 Bissonnet
Houston, TX 77005 United States
Type Art museum, institute, library, sculpture park
Public transit access
  Red Line
Museum District

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is a large art museum in Houston, Texas. It's part of the Houston Museum District. The museum recently finished a big eight-year project to make its campus better. This included opening the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building in 2020.

The MFAH has a huge collection of art. It covers more than 6,000 years of history. There are about 70,000 artworks from all over the world. In 2023, over 900,000 people visited the museum. This made it one of the most visited museums in the United States.

Museum Buildings and Spaces

CarolineWeissLawBuilding
Caroline Wiess Law Building
Housmfa
Audrey Jones Beck Building
GlassellSchoolofArt
Glassell School of Art
BayouBendClioGarden
Gardens at Bayou Bend, a historic house museum
MFAHRienzi
Rienzi House Museum

The MFAH has almost 70,000 art pieces. These are shown in many different buildings. The museum's main campus is called the Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus. It covers 14 acres and has seven buildings. There are also two other locations, Bayou Bend and Rienzi. These are historic house museums located away from the main campus. The main art collections are in the Law, Beck, and Kinder buildings.

The Sarofim Campus

  • Caroline Wiess Law Building – This is the museum's first building. It was built in 1924. Over the years, more parts were added, including air conditioning. A famous architect named Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed some of its later sections. This building is special because it's the only museum designed by Mies in the U.S. It shows temporary art shows and art from different cultures. You can see art from Islamic countries, Pacific Islands, Australia, Asia, and Africa here. It also has the world's largest collection of African Gold. There's also a special area for Indian Arts Culture.
  • Audrey Jones Beck Building – This building opened in 2000. It was designed by Rafael Moneo, a famous architect. It's named after Audrey Jones Beck, who gave many artworks to the museum. This building displays ancient art, European art, and American art from before 1900. It also features beautiful Impressionist paintings.
  • Nancy and Rich Kinder Building – This new building opened in 2020. It was designed by Steven Holl Architects. It has many galleries for art made after 1900. The Kinder Building is next to the Cullen Sculpture Garden and the Glassell School of Art. It also has a theater, a restaurant, a cafe, and several small gardens. This building made the museum's exhibition space much larger.
  • Glassell School of Art – This school was started in 1979. A new building for the school was designed by Steven Holl. It has a cool ramp that leads to a garden on the roof. The school offers many art classes and workshops. Students of all ages can learn here, from kids to adults.
  • Central Administration and Glassell Junior School of Art Building – This building opened in 1994. It holds the museum's offices and the Glassell Junior School. The MFAH is the only museum in the U.S. with a special building just for children's art classes.
  • The Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation – This center opened in 2018. It has labs and studios where experts work to protect and restore artworks. It is not open to the public.

Other Locations

  • Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens – This is a historic house museum. It shows American decorative art and furniture. It was the home of Ima Hogg, who gave it to the MFAH in 1957. The house and its beautiful gardens opened to the public in 1966. It's about five miles from the main museum. It shows American art from the 1600s to the mid-1800s.
  • Rienzi – This is another house museum for European decorative arts. It was given to the MFAH in 1991. The house was designed in 1952. It was a family home and a place for community events. In 1999, it became a museum open to the public.

Museum History

MFAHWatkinBuilding
Watkin Building, 1924

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is the oldest art museum in Texas. It started in 1917 when a group called the Houston Public School Art League decided to create a public art museum. The first museum building opened in 1924.

This first building was designed in a Greek style. It was the first art museum ever built in Texas. Today, the MFAH has three main buildings for its collections and shows. It also has two house museums, an art school, a sculpture garden, and other important buildings.

Over the years, many people have given important art pieces to the museum. In the 1930s, Annette Finnigan donated ancient artworks. Ima Hogg gave her collection of modern European prints. She also donated her Native American and Frederic Remington collections. In the 1940s, Edith and Percy Straus gave 83 Renaissance paintings and sculptures.

MFAH Aerial view
Museum circa 1926

From 1970 to 1989, the MFAH collection almost doubled. This was thanks to more art donations and new ways of funding. In 1974, John and Audrey Jones Beck loaned 50 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces. These artworks later became a permanent gift to the museum in 1998. They are now shown in the building named after Audrey Jones Beck.

The museum also started its photography collection in 1976. Today, the MFAH is the sixth-largest museum in the country.

In 2001, the MFAH created the International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA). This center studies art from Latin America and Latino artists. The ICAA has helped people learn more about art from Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Latino artists in the U.S.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is known for having a diverse collection. They show many artworks that bring people together. They also feature art that tells stories about different cultures. For example, they have many pieces by African American artists. These artworks share stories about their heritage and lives. They often explore themes like fairness and the impact of history. In 2020, the museum had a special show called "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power." It showed art by Black artists from the 1960s to the 1980s. The museum also works with local artists to show their art in different parts of Houston. This helps share art and history with more communities.

Art Collection

FlaviaPlautilla
Bust of Plautilla, wife of Caracalla

The museum has about 70,000 artworks. The biggest parts of its collection include:

  • Italian Renaissance paintings
  • French Impressionist art
  • Photography
  • American and European decorative arts
  • African and pre-Columbian gold
  • American art
  • European and American paintings and sculptures made after 1945

The museum also has a growing collection of African-American art and Texas paintings. They are also adding more modern Latin American, Asian, and Islamic art. Because of its wide range of art, the MFAH is one of the top ten art museums in the country for visitors.

Galleries

Arts of Africa, the Indigenous Pacific Islands, Australia, and the Americas [* = mixed media: = painted wood: * = earthenware]

Arts of Asia and the Islamic Worlds

  • Bian Shoumin (Chinese), Wild Geese Descending on a Sandbank (1730), scroll; ink and color on paper, 132.1 × 70.2 cm., MFA, Houston

    Bian Shoumin, Wild Geese on Sandbank (1730), ink on paper, 132.1 × 70.2 cm.

  • Ganku Kishi - Screen with Tiger - Google Art Project

    Kishi Ganku (Japan), Tiger in Landscape (1770-1839), ink and watercolor on paper, 171.2 × 372.1 × 1.5 cm.

  • Indian, Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita Cooking and Eating in the Wilderness (c. 1820), gouache with gold on paper, 21.6 × 16.5 cm., MFA, Houston

    Indian, Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita Cooking and Eating in the Wilderness (c. 1820), gouache & gold on paper, 21.6 × 16.5 cm.

Antiquities

European and American painting (1400-1899) [all oil on canvas except: ** = tempera & gold leaf on panel; * = oil on panel]

Impressionism, postimpressionism, and early modern art [all oil on canvas unless noted otherwise]

Museum Leadership

Philippe de Montebello was the museum's director from 1969 to 1974. Later, Peter Marzio led the museum for 28 years, from 1982 to 2010. During his time, the number of visitors grew a lot. The museum's collection also more than tripled in size. After Peter Marzio passed away in 2010, Gary Tinterow became the new director. Mari Carmen Ramírez is also an important art curator at the museum. She is known for her work with Latin American art.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Museo de Bellas Artes (Houston) para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.