Houston Community News >> Public Book Release Party to be Held at Rienzi Saturday, April 19
4/7/2008 Houston —The Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston’s center for European decorative arts, Rienzi, is the subject of
a long-awaited book, Rienzi: European Decorative Arts and Paintings,
that documents the house, its collections, and the collectors, Caroll
Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III, who so generously donated
the property to the museum. Rienzi is the Southwest’s most important
public collection of European decorative arts, and was a landmark of
Houston’s civic, cultural, and philanthropic activity from the time of
its completion in 1953 through the death of the Mastersons in the 1990s.
The house, located at 1406 Kirby Drive in the heart of Houston’s
historic River Oaks neighborhood, opened to the public as a museum in
1999.
To celebrate the publication of Rienzi: European Decorative Arts and Paintings, Rienzi will host a book release party for the public on Saturday, April 19, from 2 to 6 p.m. Three of the authors will be present to give related lectures throughout the afternoon, and autographed copies of the book will be available for purchase. Issued in hardcover by Scala Publishers in association with the MFAH, the 240-page volume boasts 198 color photographs and 12 black-and-white archival photos. It is priced at $45, and museum members can purchase the book at the discounted price of $40.50. Admission to the release party is free of charge. Light refreshments will be served.
The authors of Rienzi: European Decorative Arts and Paintings are, from the MFAH, Katherine S. Howe, director of Rienzi and curator of decorative arts; Edgar Peters Bowron, the Audrey Jones Beck Curator of European Art; Christine Gervais, assistant curator of Rienzi; and Cindi Strauss, who in addition to her position as curator of modern and contemporary decorative arts and design is a scholar of European ceramics. Additional authors are Stephen Fox, architectural historian and Fellow of the Anchorage Foundation; Suzanne Turner, professor emeritus of landscape architecture at Louisiana State University; and Marjorie E. Wieseman, curator of Dutch painting at the National Gallery, London. Howe, Strauss, and Gervais will be present at the book release party to speak about aspects of the collection and to sign books.
Rienzi comprises a remarkable art collection, a neo-Palladian house, and formal and woodland gardens, all assembled and created by one of Houston’s foremost philanthropic families of the second half of the 20th century. Designed by John Staub, Rienzi was completed in 1953 and expanded in 1972 with the assistance of Houston architect Hugo Neuhaus. The Mastersons’ collecting interests were diverse, and included 18th-century English and European ceramics, including rare pieces from the Worcester, Sèvres, and Meissen manufacturers; English furniture; silver; and portraiture; and small, precious objects.
Rienzi is located at 1406 Kirby Drive, in the heart of Houston’s historic River Oaks neighborhood.
To celebrate the publication of Rienzi: European Decorative Arts and Paintings, Rienzi will host a book release party for the public on Saturday, April 19, from 2 to 6 p.m. Three of the authors will be present to give related lectures throughout the afternoon, and autographed copies of the book will be available for purchase. Issued in hardcover by Scala Publishers in association with the MFAH, the 240-page volume boasts 198 color photographs and 12 black-and-white archival photos. It is priced at $45, and museum members can purchase the book at the discounted price of $40.50. Admission to the release party is free of charge. Light refreshments will be served.
The authors of Rienzi: European Decorative Arts and Paintings are, from the MFAH, Katherine S. Howe, director of Rienzi and curator of decorative arts; Edgar Peters Bowron, the Audrey Jones Beck Curator of European Art; Christine Gervais, assistant curator of Rienzi; and Cindi Strauss, who in addition to her position as curator of modern and contemporary decorative arts and design is a scholar of European ceramics. Additional authors are Stephen Fox, architectural historian and Fellow of the Anchorage Foundation; Suzanne Turner, professor emeritus of landscape architecture at Louisiana State University; and Marjorie E. Wieseman, curator of Dutch painting at the National Gallery, London. Howe, Strauss, and Gervais will be present at the book release party to speak about aspects of the collection and to sign books.
Rienzi comprises a remarkable art collection, a neo-Palladian house, and formal and woodland gardens, all assembled and created by one of Houston’s foremost philanthropic families of the second half of the 20th century. Designed by John Staub, Rienzi was completed in 1953 and expanded in 1972 with the assistance of Houston architect Hugo Neuhaus. The Mastersons’ collecting interests were diverse, and included 18th-century English and European ceramics, including rare pieces from the Worcester, Sèvres, and Meissen manufacturers; English furniture; silver; and portraiture; and small, precious objects.
Rienzi is located at 1406 Kirby Drive, in the heart of Houston’s historic River Oaks neighborhood.
For information, the public may call 713-639-7800, or visit www.mfah.org/rienzi.