Rienzi
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mrs. Elisha Mathew, 1777, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund.
Attributed to John Linnell, Armchair, c. 1770, beech, gilding, and upholstery (not original), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Arch and Stella Rowan Foundation, Inc.
Worcester Porcelain Manufactory, Dry Mustard Pot, c.1758, soft-paste porcelain. The Rienzi Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III.
William Cripps, Epergne, 1754, silver, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Rienzi Collection, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Rienzi Society.
Springtime in Rienzi's bulb garden.
Dihl and Guérhard, Partial Tea and Coffee Service (detail of saucers), c. 1800, porcelain, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Rienzi Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III.
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, Plate from the Service Arabesque, Assiette Octogone (detail), 1784, soft-paste porcelain, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Rienzi Collection, Museum purchase funded by Carol C. Ballard, Rose and Harry H. Cullen, Isla and Tommy Reckling, Jas A. Gundry, Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Hudson, Jr., Mrs. Thomas W. Blake, Mr. and Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis, Mr. and Mrs. David Beveridge, Harriett S. Goodman, Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff, and Maria Buke Butler, with additonal funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III, by exchange.
Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts, is situated on four acres of wooded gardens in the historic River Oaks neighborhood, about five miles from the main MFAH campus and about two miles from Bayou Bend, the MFAH house museum for American decorative arts and paintings.
Formerly the home of philanthropists Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III, Rienzi was designed by prominent Houston architect John Staub in 1952. Opened to the public in 1999, Rienzi houses a substantial collection of European decorative arts, paintings, furnishings, porcelain, and miniatures. Rienzi welcomes visitors for tours, family programs, lectures, music performances, and a variety of special events.
Because of the unique and intimate nature of Rienzi, visits to the house and art collection are by advance ticket purchase only. Cell-phone audio tours and maps are available. Visits to Rienzi are currently self-guided only. Learn More
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Hours
- Sunday
- 1 p.m.–5 p.m.
- Monday
- CLOSED
- Tuesday
- CLOSED
- Wednesday
- 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Thursday
- 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Friday
- 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Saturday
- 10 a.m.–5 p.m.