Inside the MFAH
“Inside the MFAH” provides perspectives, conversations, and opinions from insiders at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Curator Malcolm Daniel Provides a Snapshot of Degas December 12, 2016
Few people know that late in life, when his paintings and pastels were already famous, Edgar Degas briefly took up photography. Some 20 of his surviving photographs are featured in the exhibition Degas: A New Vision. Malcolm Daniel, the Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography, spoke with me about Degas’s photography. What was the psychological connection between events in Degas’s life …
Celebrate Kirk Douglas’s Centennial with MFAH Films! December 7, 2016
Happy birthday to legendary actor Kirk Douglas, who turns 100 on December 9! To celebrate his centennial, we’re screening Lonely Are the Brave, a 1962 Western he cites as one of his personal favorites. Here’s a nice bit of trivia: This movie had its world premiere at a theater in Houston! With a screenplay adapted by legendary writer Dalton Trumbo—a friend Douglas had just collaborated with …
Behind the Scenes with Bosch: Curators in Conversation November 28, 2016
Five hundred years after his death, Hieronymous Bosch (c. 1450–1516) still inspires viewers with fantastical paintings that were the subject of a recent exhibition in his hometown of 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. A new documentary on the exhibition, “Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil”—which screens at the MFAH on December 3 & 4—relates to a painting on view in the MFAH galleries: “ …
Who Needs Leftovers? Go French for “Degas: A New Vision” November 26, 2016
We all love pumpkin pie and stuffing, but Degas: A New Vision has us in a French mood—and what’s more French than a good meal and wine? The MFAH has partnered with local eateries to enhance your experience of the exhibition; Jacques Fox, chef/owner of Artisans Restaurant in Midtown, created a “Tribute to Edgar Degas” menu, and Jaime Salazar, chef at Brasserie 19 in River Oaks, chose to serve up …
Dancing with Degas November 18, 2016
Edgar Degas was the first artist to specialize in depictions of the ballet, and he returned to the subject of dancers throughout his career. He portrayed the reality of backstage in vibrant pastel studies, complex paintings, bronze sculptures, and sketches of split-second moments of a dancer’s motion. The many ballerinas on view in Degas: A New Visiongot some like company recently, as Houston …
Happy Birthday! MFAH Films Celebrates Robert Frank November 1, 2016
Happy birthday to Robert Frank! He turns 92 on November 9 and is still one of the coolest guys I know. Our Museum has had the privilege of working with this venerable photographer and filmmaker for years. He is well represented in our permanent collection, and we’ve distributed his films since the 1980s. His birthday has inspired us to screen two films you won’t see anywhere else in town: a new …
Happy Halloween! Spooky Art Lurks in the Galleries October 28, 2016
The Halloween spirit lurks in the MFAH galleries at every turn. Keep an eye out for dancing witches, scary skeletons, and creepy symbols—if you dare. Helen Levitt, New York, 1939 Location: Beck Building, 1st floor
• Photographer Helen Levitt roamed the streets of New York, capturing unguarded moments of children at play—including this Halloween-ready masked trio, on loan for the special …
The Curator and the Collector: David B. Warren Shares His Unique Perspective October 26, 2016
March 5, 2016, marked the 50th anniversary of Bayou Bend’s opening to the public. We’re celebrating throughout the year with blog posts offering behind-the-scenes perspectives on this cultural and historical Houston treasure. David B. Warren’s connection to Bayou Bend began in 1965, when Ima Hogg(1882–1975) hired him as curator just months before the new house museum was to open to the public. …
Must-See Art This Fall, Handpicked by MFAH Curatorial Staff September 20, 2016
The days are shorter and the shadows are longer, but fall doesn’t just mean a change in season. Discover the multitude of meanings that autumn holds across time and cultures with these curatorial staff picks of works from the MFAH collections. Read the curators’ notes, then find the autumn-inspired art on view in our permanent collection galleries!
Journey through the Egyptian Afterlife with Matthew Barney’s “River of Fundament” September 1, 2016
I was thrilled when MFAH film curator Marian Luntz e-mailed me about working with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston to share Matthew Barney’s River of Fundament with Houston audiences. This is a film that must be watched in a theater where one’s attention is controlled, because the two things one hears first about it are that it is very long and very demanding.
