Named after its benefactor, the Museo Franz Mayer is home to a
wide variety of objects, all collected by a single man. After
his death, Franz Mayer left the collection to the people of Mexico
in a trust administered by the Bank of Mexico. The collection
contains outstanding examples of paintings, sculptures and decorative
arts - furniture, gold and silver objects, ceramics, textiles,
featherwork - from the Viceregal or colonial period from 1521
to 1821 when Spain ruled Mexico.
The Franz
Mayer Collection contains decorative arts, navigational instruments,
maps, painting and sculpture. The decorative arts collections
include outstanding furniture, gold and silver objects, ceramics,
textiles, and featherwork. These objects reveal the history
of people who lived during the viceregal period. The works of
art trace their taste, way of life, their customs and traditions
giving us a complete overview of their society.
|
Bayou Bend was built as a home for Mike Hogg, Will Hogg and
their sister Ima. The adult children of James Stephen Hogg,
the first native-born governor of Texas, lived at Bayou Bend
for only a brief time. Mike Hogg married and moved away in 1929;
Will Hogg died the following year, leaving his sister as sole
occupant of the house. Miss Hogg donated Bayou Bend to the Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston, in 1957, but continued living at the
estate until 1965. She oversaw the transformation of her home
into a house museum which opened to the public in 1966. Today,
Bayou Bend remains one of Houston's cultural treasures.
The Bayou Bend Collection is one of the nation's foremost gatherings
of American painting and decorative arts-- furniture, metals,
ceramics, glass, and textiles-- dating from 1620 through 1870.
The objects in the collection are among the finest examples
of American design and craftsmanship, but they also reflect
the tastes, values, and aspirations of ordinary Americans. Today,
the collection fulfills Miss Hogg's dream that "Bayou
Bend may serve as a bridge to bring us closer to the heart of
an American heritage which unites us."
|
