About Rienzi

A Word from the Director Welcome to the web site for Rienzi, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's center for European decorative arts. Rienzi is the former home of Houston philanthropists Carroll Sterling Masterson and her husband Harris Masterson III. In 1952, the Mastersons engaged esteemed local architect John Staub to design Rienzi. At the time he called it their "palladian contemporary" home. Later the Mastersons asked Hugo Neuhaus to design Rienzi's lavish ballroom built in 1971. Rienzi is a unique Houston home, a combination of English 18th-century architectural ornament and progressive mid-20th-century design, such as its large plate glass windows overlooking the reflecting pool and gardens beyond. For over forty years the Mastersons collected fine 18th- and early 19th-century European decorative arts and paintings, especially English portraits, Spanish paintings, ceramics, and furniture. Their collections and residence were used and enjoyed by the owners, their children, grandchildren, and friends until 1997, when Rienzi and its contents were given to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston as a center for European decorative arts. Rienzi is located approximately three miles from downtown Houston in River Oaks, one of Houston's finest residential neighborhoods, and is set in approximately four acres of wooded gardens. Rienzi and its gardens have been open to the public since 1999. I hope you will enjoy your visit to the Rienzi web site and that you will be encouraged to learn more about Rienzi. I would also urge you to take a personalized tour of the collection, attend a concert or lecture, bring your children to a family day or participate in the various other Rienzi activities. Katherine S. Howe Director, Rienzi

Katherine S. Howe