Exhibitions at Rienzi

Rienzi’s exhibitions, held biannually, seek to study elements of Rienzi and 18th-century European decorative arts in depth, actively engaging the permanent collection in a dialogue with visitors.   

The Wedding Dress
March 3–June 30, 2013

You are cordially invited to attend an exhibition about Rienzi, a family, and a wedding dress. 

Known for its exceptional collection of European decorative arts, Rienzi was the longtime home of Houston philanthropists Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III. The Wedding Dress celebrates the history of this family and its home through the story of a beloved heirloom. 

From the first wedding reception in 1957, the family has celebrated marriages of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren at Rienzi. At the center of the story is a gown made of antique peau d’ange silk and a veil of antique Brussels rose-point lace. It was made for Isla Carroll Cowan for her marriage to T. R. Reckling III on October 12, 1957. The dress and veil have now been worn by three generations of women, all of whom had wedding receptions at the family home. This installation showcases the wedding dress and the veil along with images of the brides and views of Rienzi’s wedding celebrations over the decades. Special photographs of the house, including the exterior pavilion created for the 1957 wedding reception by Herbert Wells, one of Houston’s most distinguished interior designers, are also on view.
 
"The Wedding Dress" is organized by the MFAH. Most sincere thanks to Isla Carroll Reckling and the Reckling family brides for sharing their family history.

Past Exhibitions

Visions of Fancy: George Romney,
18th-Century Paintings and Drawings
October 14, 2012–January 20, 2013
A leading artist of late-18th-century England, George Romney (1734–1802) worked amongst an elite circle of British painters, including Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, whose patrons were made up of London’s fashionable society. Romney established himself as a society portrait painter, with a style of elegance and informality that won him a prestigious client list. Visions of Fancy presents examples of these finished works along with a small collection of the artist’s sketches and preparatory drawings, which express his aspirations toward historical and literary subjects. A highlight is the bound sketchbook from 1783 showing figures in spontaneous motion on each page. Although Romney gained prestige for his portraits, his drawings show the hand of a powerful and sensitive draughtsman, and an innovative artist. 

Dancing on Gilded Foot: KPM Porcelain at Rienzi
March–August 2012

English Taste:
The Art of Dining in the Eighteenth Century
September 17, 2011–January 19, 2012
The first special exhibition ever held at Rienzi, English Taste treated visitors to a dining-room extravaganza. The 18th-century English dinner table was a feast for the eyes. In order to impress their guests and assure them that they were dining amid fashionable people of consequence, hosts served sumptuous dishes, adorned with towering sugar constructions and amusing trompe l'oeil (fool-the-eye) jellies of playing cards or bacon and eggs, all on exquisite silver and porcelain. Gracing Rienzi's table—complete with lavish, Georgian silver fittings and place settings—were lifelike fish, fowl, and flummeries created by English food historian Ivan Day with guidance from the influential period cookbook The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald, the “Martha Stewart of the 18th century.” Click here for a video tour of the installation.