Rienzi Notes

Become a Rienzi Docent
Applications are currently being accepted. Training for the 2009 docent class will begin September 28. Classes are held through the end of November; new docents begin touring in December. A two-year volunteer commitment is requested. For information and an application, please contact rienzi@mfah.org. The next Open House for prospective new docents is July 31st 2pm-4pm. Please RSVP for this event.

Join us for "A Great Read" at Rienzi this Summer!

Family Art Workshops
Sundays, July 12th, 19th and 26th

1:00 to 4:30pm

Admission is $5 for adults, FREE for children 12 and under

The workshops lead children through a creative journey, authoring a short story (July 12), then creating an illustrated art book (July 19), and animating it through puppetry (July 26).

Recommended for age 6-12.

Storytime Tours
Every Wednesday
in June and July 2009

at 10 a.m.

Admission is FREE.
Reservations are required and space is limited.

Rienzi´s Storytime Tour is a fun and interactive activity featuring stories related to works of art. Tours introduce children to the magic of art and literature in an intimate house museum setting.

Tours are geared for children ages 4 to 12.

Rienzi: A Family's Legacy

Celebrating 10 Years as Part of the MFAH

Opened to the public in 1999, Rienzi is the center for European decorative arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Comprising a remarkable art collection, a house, and gardens, Rienzi was given to the museum by arts patrons Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III.

This handsome residence, named for Rienzi Johnston, Mr. Masterson's grandfather, is situated on 4.4 acres in Homewood Addition, surrounded by Houston's River Oaks neighborhood. The structure was designed in 1952 by John F. Staub, the same architect who designed Bayou Bend.

Rienzi served as both a family home and a center for Houston civic and philanthropic activity from its completion in 1954, through Mrs. Masterson's death in 1994, and until Mr. Masterson's death in 1997.