MFAH AR Text 2016_17R2.qxp_18.178 MFAH AR Text 2016-17.rd7

134 Pages·2017·5.45 MB·English

by  Dave T

μ˙ The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
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˙ a n n u a l

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2016–2017
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ON THE COVER:
ANISHKAPOOR, Indian, born 1954,
active London A
Cloud Column, 1998–2006 N
Stainless steel N
351 x130 x80 in. (891.5 x330.2 x203.2 cm) U
Museum purchase funded by A
the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions L
Endowment Fund
R
2017.246
E
P
Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Columnis an
O
outstanding sculpture of exceptional
beauty. Standing over two stories tall, R
it gracefully invites the contemplation T
of not only the object itself but also the
position of the viewer in relation to the 2
world. The highly polished stainless-steel 0
surface reflects every nuance of light, and 1
captures the surroundings as well. At the 6
same time, the play between the convex –
and concave surfaces establishes a dual
2
reality, as the elongated core of the
0
sculpture presents the world upside
1
down, bringing the heavens to earth.
ALG 7
MFAH
BY THE NUMBERS
July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017
• 990,065visits to the Museum, the Lillie and Hugh Roy Attendance
Tuition $4.77
Cullen Sculpture Garden, Bayou Bend Collection and Revenue 7% Other
$2.0 $7.2
Gardens, Rienzi, and the Glassell School of Art 3% 11% THE MUSEUM OF
Membership THE MUSEUM OF
Revenue
• 114,500visitors and students reached through learning $3.2 FINE ARTS, HOUSTON,
5%
and interpretation programs on-site and off-site FINE ARTS, HOUSTON,
FY 2017 WARMLY THANKS
• 62,964youth visitors ages 18 and under received free Operating Operating Revenues Endowment WARMLY THANKS
or discounted access to the MFAH Fund-raising (million) Spending
$15.8 $34.1 THE MORE THAN
23% 51% THE MORE THAN
• 44,615schoolchildren and their chaperones received
1,000 DOCENTS,
free tours of the MFAH 1,000 DOCENTS,
VOLUNTEERS, AND
• 6,332Houstonians were served through community VOLUNTEERS, AND
engagement programs off-site Total Revenues: $67 million
MEMBERS OF THE
MEMBERS OF THE
• 122community partners citywide collaborated with
MUSEUM’S GUILD FOR
the MFAH
Exhibitions, Curatorial, MUSEUM’S GUILD FOR
and Collections $13.6
Auxiliary
22% THEIR EXTRAORDINARY
• 2,871,252visits recorded at mfah.org Activities $3.3
5% THEIR EXTRAORDINARY
DEDICATION
• 268,650visits recorded at the online collections module Fund-raising $5.1
DEDICATION
8%
AND COMMITMENT.
• 258,766people followed the MFAH on Facebook, FY 2017 AND COMMITMENT.
Education,
Instagram, and Twitter Operating Expenses
Libraries,
(million) and Visitor
Engagment $12.5
• 212,432 online visitors accessed the Documents 20%
of 20th-Century Latin American and Latino Art
Website, icaadocs.mfah.org
Management
Buildings and Grounds
and General $12.8
and Security $14.5
• 82,004visitors attended Degas: A New Vision 21% 24%
Total Expenses: $61.8
• 29,405member households supported the MFAH
• 1,000volunteers and docents served the MFAH
• 657permanent and temporary staff were employed
by the MFAH
CONTENTS
ANNUAL REPORT
JULY 1, 2016–JUNE 30, 2017
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
4 Board of Trustees
5 Committee Chairmen
6 Report of the Director
16 Accessions
Illustrated works on the cover and on pages 17–61
African Art, 62
Art of the Americas, 62
Art of the Islamic Worlds, 62
Asian Art, 62
The Bayou Bend Collection, 62
Decorative Arts, 63
European Art, 64
Latin American Art, 65
Modern and Contemporary Art, 65
Photography, 66
Prints and Drawings, 71
The Rienzi Collection, 74
75 Exhibitions
Major Loan and Permanent-Collection
Exhibitions, 75
Additional Displays from the Permanent
Collection and Gallery Rotations, 90
98 Departmental Highlights
100 Learning and Interpretation
102 Membership and Guest Services
103 International Center for the Arts
of the Americas
104 Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation
105 The Glassell School of Art
106 Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
107 Rienzi
108 The Brown Foundation Fellows Program
The Dora Maar House, Ménerbes, France
109 Development
122 Report of the Chief Financial Officer
127 Staff
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
OFFICERS LIFE TRUSTEES Mrs. Sandra Godfrey Mrs. Cyvia G. Wolff
Ms. Carroll R. Goodman Mrs. Nina O’Leary Zilkha
Mr. Richard D. Kinder Mr. Isaac Arnold, Jr. Mr. Martyn E. Goossen
Chairman Mrs. Anne S. Duncan Mrs. Windi Grimes HONORARY TRUSTEES
AND TRUSTEES EMERITI
Mrs. Clare Attwell Glassell Ms. Cecily E. Horton
Mrs. Anne S. Duncan
Mr. Frank J. Hevrdejs Mr. William J. Hill
Vice-Chairman and Secretary
Dr. Marjorie G. Horning Mr. Ronald E. Huebsch Mrs. Carol C. Ballard
Mr. Frank J. Hevrdejs Mr. E. J. Hudson, Jr. Mrs. Mary F. Johnston Mr. Raphael Bernstein
Treasurer Mr. Richard D. Kinder Mr. Jesse H. Jones II Ms. Tanya Brillembourg
Mrs. Cornelia C. Long Mrs. Elise Elkins Joseph Mrs. Gisele Chulack
Mrs. Cornelia C. Long Mrs. Sara S. Morgan Mr. Lenoir M. Josey II Mrs. Joyce Z. Greenberg
Chairman Emeritus
Mrs. Nancy Brown Negley Mr. George B. Kelly Mr. Adolpho Leirner
Ms. Anne Schlumberger Ms. Carla Knobloch Mr. Thomas V. McMahan
Ms. Alice C. Simkins Mr. Andrius Kontrimas Mr. Robert C. McNair
Mrs. Jeanie Kilroy Wilson Mrs. Colleen Kotts Mrs. Nancy Peterkin
Mr. Richard W. Wortham III Mrs. Sima Ladjevardian Mrs. Isla Reckling
Mrs. Lynn S. Wyatt Mr. Douglas L. Lawing Mrs. Louisa Stude Sarofim
Mrs. Rolanette Lawrence Ms. Barbara Slifka
ELECTED TRUSTEES
Mr. Michael C. Linn Dr. Alvia J. Wardlaw
Mr. James Edward Maloney
EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES
Mrs. Gail F. Adler
Mr. William N. Mathis
Mrs. Sushila Agrawal
Mrs. Lisa M. Mears
Ms. Gerry Aitken
Mrs. Karol Barnhart
Mrs. Nidhika O. Mehta
MFAH Volunteer Guild
Mr. Jack S. Blanton, Jr.
Ms. Nancy Powell Moore
Mr. Brad Bucher
Ms. Joan Morgenstern Mr. Dwight A. Boykins
Mr. Charles Butt Mrs. Laurie Morian Houston City Council
Mr. Frank N. Carroll
Mrs. Bobbie Nau
Ms. Bettie Cartwright Ms. Ellen Cohen
Ms. Franci Neely
Houston City Council
Mrs. Jereann H. Chaney
Mrs. Pamela F. Ott
Dr. Anne S. Chao
Mrs. Cynthia Petrello Mrs. Kackie Dunwoody
Mr. Peter R. Coneway
Mrs. Susanne Pritchard River Oaks Garden Club
Mr. Michael G. Cousins
Mrs. Tina Pyne
Mrs. Mary Cullen Mrs. Kay English
Mrs. Macey Hodges Reasoner
Mrs. Rosanette S. Cullen Bayou Bend Docent Organization
Ms. Beth Robertson
Mrs. Rania Daniel
Mr. Manolo Sánchez
Ms. Kate Kraycirik
Mrs. Linnet F. Deily
Mrs. Courtney Lanier Sarofim The Junior League of Houston
Ms. Sara Paschall Dodd
Mrs. Eliza Stedman
Mr. Holbrook F. Dorn Mrs. Aliyya Kombargi Stude Ms. Debbie McNulty
Mr. Rodney J. Eichler City of Houston
Mrs. Judy Spence Tate
Mrs. Zeina N. Fares
Mrs. Phoebe Tudor
Mrs. Cindy Wallace
Mr. Gregory E. Fourticq, Jr.
Mr. Barron F. Wallace
The Garden Club of Houston
Mrs. Barbara Gamson
Mr. James D. Weaver
Mrs. Lela Gibbs
Mrs. Barbara Webber
Mr. Tom Glanville
Mrs. Margaret Alkek Williams
Mr. Alfred C. Glassell, III
Dr. Frazier Wilson
4
COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN
MUSEUM BAYOU BEND COLLECTION
AND GARDENS
Mr. Richard D. Kinder Mr. Frank J. Hevrdejs Mr. Richard W. Wortham III
Executive Committee Collections Committee Latin American Art Mrs. Martha Erwin
Subcommittee Bayou Bend Committee
Mr. Jack S. Blanton, Jr. Mr. Frank N. Carroll
Audit Committee Africa, Oceania, and Mr. Jack S. Blanton, Jr. Mrs. Jeanie Kilroy Wilson
the Americas Subcommittee and Mr. Jesse H. Jones II Bayou Bend Collection
Mr. Richard W. Wortham III (Co-Chairs) Subcommittee
Buildings and Grounds Mrs. Jeanie Kilroy Wilson Modern and Contemporary
THE GLASSELL SCHOOL
Committee American Painting and Art Subcommittee
OF ART
Sculpture Subcommittee
Mr. Richard D. Kinder Mr. James Edward Maloney
Compensation Committee Mrs. Nancy O’Connor Photography Subcommittee Mr. Brad Bucher
Abendshein Executive Committee
Mrs. Courtney Lanier Sarofim Antiquities Subcommittee Ms. Franci Neely and
Development Committee Mr. Michael S. Zilkha Mrs. Jereann H. Chaney
Mrs. Sima Ladjevardian (Co-Chairs) Core Residency Program
Mr. H. John Riley, Jr. and Ms. Franci Neely Mrs. Lynn Wyatt Subcommittee
Endowment Committee (Co-Chairs) (Founding Chair)
RIENZI
Art of the Islamic Worlds Film Subcommittee
Mr. E. J. Hudson, Jr. Subcommittee
Finance Committee Mr. Jack S. Blanton, Jr. Mrs. Rosslyn F. Crawford
Dr. Marjorie G. Horning Prints and Drawings Rienzi Committee
Mr. Richard D. Kinder (Chair) Subcommittee
Long-Range Planning Mrs. Nidhika O. Mehta Mrs. Cyvia G. Wolff
Committee (Co-Chair) Mr. E. J. Hudson, Jr. Rienzi Collections
Asian Art Subcommittee and Ms. Alice C. Simkins Subcommittee
Mr. Richard D. Kinder (Co-Chairs)
Nominating Committee Ms. Cecily E. Horton Conservation Committee Mrs. Cheryl H. Moore
Decorative Arts Subcommittee Rienzi Garden Subcommittee
Mrs. Anne S. Duncan
Mrs. Judy E. Margolis Exhibitions Committee
European Art Subcommittee
Mrs. Macey Hodges Reasoner
Learning and Interpretation
Committee
Ms. Terry Ann Brown
Library Committee
5
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR
Museum. Featuring unprecedented loans from the
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, among the some two hundred
works lent by dozens of lenders, the selection, made by
Henri Loyrette and myself, emphasized the continuity of
Degas’s experimentation, treating a group of themes in
every medium available to the artist, from paint and
pastel to printmaking, sculpture, and photography.
Degas: A New Vision was awarded the prestigious Global
Fine Arts Award for best monographic exhibition of the
year, and was praised by the Los Angeles Times art critic,
Christopher Knight, as “fascinating.”
An even higher number of visitors, nearly 147,000 over
It is difficult to characterize a year in the life of a the course of almost six months, was captivated by the
museum in a single phrase, but if fiscal year 2015–2016 work of contemporary artist Ron Mueck. Thirteen of his
could be called the year of extraordinary acquisitions, sculptures of everyday people, startlingly lifelike and
then 2016–2017 was the year of extraordinary atten- deliberately skewed in scale from the miniscule to the
dance. At a time when museums around the world gargantuan, revealed the deeply philosophical essence
were witnessing declining admission, we experienced of Mueck’s vision, which charts the mysteries of human
growth. Attendance at all of our facilities increased 10 existence from birth to death. This exhibition brought
percent over the previous year, to just under one million. an unprecedented number of first-time visitors to
Many other metrics increased accordingly. One of the the Museum.
most surprising is that the number of youth visitors,
age eighteen and under, increased 50 percent—to nearly In a year of many programs, achievements, and institu-
63,000. Concurrent with this robust attendance, all tional milestones, the fiscal year that ended on June 30,
streams of earned income increased proportionally, 2017, also welcomed important works of art to the per-
bringing us to the end of the fiscal year with a record manent collection. Nearly every curatorial department
surplus of income over expenses. Although counting grew. The Museum purchased 335 objects and received
methods were different in years past, as accurately as we an additional 402 objects as gifts. Outstanding among
can determine, we have exceeded all previous records these significant gifts are four Maya objects from Mr.
handily. Similarly, our balance sheet tipped the scales at Frank N. Carroll, including the exquisite jade Head of a
an all-time record net worth of $1.6 billion—a sum that Spider Monkey; two drawings from Ms. Cecily E. Horton,
does not include the value of our extensive collections of including John Flaxman’s lyrical Oceanus and Prometheus
art. By this measure, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Bound, one of the British Neoclassical artist’s influential
ranks fourth among art museums in the country. illustrations of Greek myths. We received from Mr.
William J. Hill a dazzling nineteenth-century sewing
Without question, the increased number of visits was tableby master craftsman William Otto Glosnop, carved
driven by our exhibition program. The landmark retro- from Texas wood, and a vase from the Newcomb College
spective of the works of the French Impressionist Edgar Pottery; twenty-one French Art Deco objects, including
Degas, organized with our colleagues at the National important furniture by the famed designer Jacques-
Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and Art Exhibitions Émile Ruhlmann, from Mr. andMrs. Meredith J. Long,
Australia, received 82,004 visits, the highest attendance instantly creating strength where there was a gap, in
documented for a traditional three-month run at the addition to their gift of a major painting by Robert
6
Motherwell, Three Personages, from the Hollow Men community outreach led by Waverly Gooding, audience
series; the painted portrait of Miss Ima Hogg by Robert engagement manager, continues to bring the greater
C. Joy, a gift of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Lindsey; the Houston community to the Museum, and the Museum
photograph Baseby Gilbert and George from the Chaney into the community. Over the course of fiscal year
Family Collection in honor ofMs. Anne Wilkes Tucker; 2016–2017, nearly 115,000 people participated in pro-
and the painting Prosperity by Francesco Clemente, grams on- and off-site, including more than 44,000
a gift of the Alex Katz Foundation. students and chaperones who received free tours and
6,300 others who had access to art in their own com-
This fiscal year also witnessed a fine slate of purchases, munities through programs such as Glassell-on-the-Go,
capped by Anish Kapoor’s monumental stainless-steel which brings art classes to youth across Houston. The
sculpture Cloud Column, which will be permanently Museum’s teen program, hang@mfah, is being used as
sited on The Brown Foundation, Inc. Plaza in front of a model by other museums for engagement with young
the Glassell School of Art. We also were able to obtain a people. With the Museum’s Mellon Undergraduate
handsome group of Jalisco figures; anAlbrecht Dürer Curatorial Fellowship Program, a national program
print, Saint George Killing the Dragon; a Compositional designed to diversify the museum field, our curators
Study for “Le Combat des Sections d’Infanterie”by Jacques continue to support two fellows each year, with the
Callot;a remarkable Chinese celadon Pot-Pourri with goal of mentoring them through their acceptance into
fantastic French ormolu mounts; an eighteenth-century graduate school.
embroidered panel from India; a Terrestrial Globeby
J. & W. Cary; an unforgettable Helmet Mask Representing The free admission that was extended to nearly a third
a Warriorby theKom peoples; the last photographic of visitors on the main campus was supported by $15.8
portrait ofCharles Baudelaire, made by Cautin & Berger; million in donations for operations, a fund-raising
the sculpture Clytieby George Frederick Watts, our first program overseen by Chief Development Officer Amy
British sculpture from the nineteenth century; Jeune Purvis and her staff. Given the ongoing $450-million
femme(Young Woman) by Berthe Morisot and a haun- Capital Campaign, this impressive figure demonstrates
ting and rare Pointillist landscape, La route (The Road), the extraordinary commitment of our supporters. The
by Achille Laugé; an extraordinary bronze Head of a Trustees continue to set a standard of philanthropy that
Philosopherby the NeapolitanVincenzo Gemito; a strik- is a tribute not only to the Museum but also to our city.
ing Portrait of Arnold Hannay by William Nicholson;
a sketchbook by famed Houston artist John Biggers; In addition to Degas: A New Vision and Ron Mueck,
“Monumentino da Casa,” a psychedelic-era chair de- the Museum presented a range of dynamic, thought-
signed by Alessandro Mendini;the photographs Lovely provoking exhibitions during this fiscal year. Kusama:
Six Foota by Mickalene Thomas, Monuments: 276 Views At the Endof the Universe, which featured the Museum’s
of the United States–Mexico Border by David Taylor, and recent acquisition of Yayoi Kusama’s Aftermath of
Beautiful Vanessaby Richard Learoyd; and seventy-five Obliteration of Eternity, welcomed as many visitors as
works by the humanist photographer Fazal Sheikh, an possible given that each was given sixty seconds alone
acquisition made possible by Jane P. Watkins. At the in the artist’s Infinity Room. Emperors’ Treasures:
end of the year, we were able to acquire, and install, Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum, Taipei
the enchanting Pixel Forest Transformerand Worry Will marked another milestone for the Museum: not in
Vanish Dissolution by Pipilotti Rist. two decades had the Taipei museum lent so many
treasures to an American institution, and this initiative
Extensive programming by our Department of Learning allowed us to nurture relationships with another of
and Interpretation, headed by Caroline Goeser, with Houston’s many communities.
7
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR
Ancient Luxury and the Roman Silver Treasure from silk and cotton ikats from Uzbekistan. Malcolm Daniel’s
Berthouville, an exhibition of over 170 objects from the Homelands and Histories: Photographs by Fazal Sheikh
ancient Roman Empire, featured an opulent collection of earned significant press attention, including from the
silver objects known as the Berthouville Treasure, a cache Wall Street Journal. Two compelling exhibitions opened
accidentally discovered by a French farmer in the early just as the fiscal year closed: Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest
nineteenth century and recently conserved by the J. Paul and Worry Will Vanish and Paint the Revolution: Mexican
Getty Museum. The Treasure was displayed alongside a Modernism, 1910–1950. The first, organized by Alison
selection of precious gemstones, glass, jewelry, and other de Lima Greene, was a mesmerizing voyage into the
Roman luxury items from the royal collections of the artist’s own world and another in the ongoing series of
Cabinet des Médailles of the Bibliothèque nationale de summer immersive installations in Cullinan Hall. The
France. It was handsomely installed by Frances Marzio. second, originated by the Philadelphia Museum of Art
and the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico
A pair of fascinating exhibitions brought the artistic City and organized here by Dr. Ramírez, was an
heritage of Texas to our galleries. A Texas Legacy: insightful, comprehensive survey of a highly influential
Selections from the William J. Hill Collectionencompassed chapter of modernism.
furniture, drawings, paintings, pottery, and silver, show-
casing the art and traditional craft practices of the early Each of our curators was actively engaged in bringing
settlers; Julian Onderdonk and the Texan Landscapesur- their collections to the public through special installa-
veyed the career of this San Antonio–born artist, who tions, from photography to design to artists’ books,
was trained under the American Impressionist master and the fiscal year 2016–2017 also marked a milestone
William Merritt Chase. We are deeply indebted to Mr. in the Museum’s presentation of works from its
Hill for his devotion to the artists and artisans of Texas collection: The Museum partnered with Buffalo Bayou
and for his commitment to the Museum, Bayou Bend, Partnership to present Rain: Magdalena Fernández at
and the Glassell School. Two Centuries of American Still- the Houston Cistern, located in the historic Buffalo
Life Painting: The Frank and Michelle Hevrdejs Collection, Bayou Park Cistern near downtown Houston. The
traced the history of American still-life painting. Mr. exhibition featured 2iPM009, an abstract video-
Hevrdejs, a Life Trustee and the Treasurer of the projection installation that evokes a rain-soaked night.
Museum, announced the promised gift of this collection For this presentation, Fernández adapted the work to be
at the inauguration of the show: this unique collection an immersive environment projected onto the cistern’s
will transform our holdings of American art. 221 columns. All of these exhibitions were managed
with great professionalism and efficiency by the exhibi-
Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since tions team, overseen by Assistant Director Deborah
1950 was a groundbreaking exhibition, organized for the Roldán; coordinated by the department of the registrar,
Museum by Dr. Mari Carmen Ramírez with Olga Viso, led by Julie Bakke; and installed by the Museum’s team
former director of the Walker Art Center, that brought of preparators, led by Dale Benson.
modern and contemporary Cuban art to the United
States on an unprecedented scale. The exhibition gave The MFAH house museums, Bayou Bend Collection
“a vivid sense of the island’s still-unfamiliar modernist and Gardens and Rienzi, continue to expand and
past,” as the co-chief art critic for the New York Times, enhance their public programs. This year witnessed
Holland Cotter, noted. Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian yet another exciting installment of Christmas Village
Ikats, organized by Dr. Aimée Froom from a loan exhi- at Bayou Bend, which delighted over 15,000 visitors
bition of the Textile Museum, Washington, DC, featured in just under three weeks with striking outdoor
8
illuminations and projections, a beautiful mirrored executive administrator,Office of the Director, returned
Spiegeltent, and a spirited guided tour through the to New York to join the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian
house. Conceived by Todd Waite, and executed by Bonnie Design Museum. It is impossible to overstate my per-
Campbell, Bayou Bend director, and her team, each year sonal appreciation for her invaluable contributions to the
the tour brings Ima Hogg and her cultural passions to administration of the Museum during a key moment of
life, with actors, music, and special effects. We hope transition both for the institution and for me personally.
that Christmas Village will become a Houston tradition.
I would like to close with recognizing the May 31, 2017,
At Rienzi, newly minted programs included Yoga in the groundbreaking ceremony for the future Nancy and
Gardens and Rienzi Reels, which presents outdoor film Rich Kinder Building for modernand contemporary art,
screenings in the Camellia Garden. The newly added which took place as two other major structures—the
Masterson Focus Tour showcases, three times a year, Glassell School of Art and the Sarah Campbell Blaffer
how theMastersons lived at Rienzi prior to generously Foundation Center for Conservation—were well under
donating their house to the Museum. way. In the midst of a dynamic and rewarding exhibition
and programming roster, behind the scenes our focus
During fiscal year 2016–2017, the staff of 657 profes- continues to be centered on the planning for the expand-
sionals was enhanced and supported by a thousand ed Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus, a transformation
docents, volunteers, and members of the Museum’s that features three new buildings, three new public
Guild, all of whom welcomed nearly one million visits plazas, an amphitheater, a roof garden, two tunnels, and
to our various facilities. Our operations required an two underground parking garages. Planning has been
expenditure of $61.8 million, of which $34.1 million overseen by Chief Operating Officer Willard Holmes
(51 percent of the $67 million revenue total) was provided under the supervision of Richard D. Kinder, Chairman
by the Museum’s endowment, and $15.8 million (23 per- of the Long-Range Planning Committee. Chief Financial
cent of revenue) by fund-raising and gifts, and $17.17 Officer Eric Anyah continues the astute stewardship of
million (26 percent of revenue) was earned income. our endowment to ensure support of expanded future
The City of Houston allocated $855,059 (1.28 percent of operations. Chairman Emeritus Cornelia C. Long
revenue) in Hotel Occupancy Tax funds to the Museum.  worked hand in hand with Ms. Purvis to direct the
Capital Campaign, which had received, as of June 30,
With each year, of course, comes transition. Mrs. 2017, approximately $390 million in pledges and
Frances P. Marzio, curator of Antiquitiesand the Arts individual gifts toward our goal of $450,000,000.
of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, retired after more
than thirty years with theinstitution. Frances brought It has been an extraordinary year. As with each edition
an abiding passion and a sensitive intelligence to each of the annual report, this publication can provide only
and every initiative she undertook here at the Museum; a summary of the accomplishments of our exceptional
we, her colleagues, and the public benefitted in countless staff and volunteers, and the many generous contribu-
ways as a result. In recognition of her career-long tions of our nearly one hundred Trustees and more than
devotion to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the fifty thousand Museum members. As I do each year, on
Trustees appointed her Curator Emerita of the Glassell behalf of the entire organization, I would like to extend
Collections. Dr. Michael D. Wellen, our longtime assis- my sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the
tant curator of Latin American and Latino art, assumed Museum’s initiatives.
a prestigious new position at the Tate Gallery, London.
And after five years at the Museum, Ms. Nykia Omphroy, —Gary Tinterow
9
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON
The Campaign for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Like so many other institutions across the region, the
reached several milestones in fiscal year 2017, beginning Museum and its redevelopment project were affected
with the formal unveiling of the permanent architectural by the flooding brought by Hurricane Harvey. The
signage for the newly named Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Sarofim Campus fared well during the hurricane,
Campus on January 30, 2017. With an array of public with limited, isolated leaks in the Caroline Wiess Law
plazas, reflecting pools, and gardens, as well as improved Building and Audrey Jones Beck Building that were
sidewalks, street lighting, and wayfinding, the expanded immediately contained. The Glassell School and Kinder
campus will provide a beautiful and dynamic setting for Building construction sites received about two million
the Museum’s new and existing buildings. gallons of water in all. Cleanup began directly after the
hurricane, and work on the construction sites resumed.
On May 31, Trustees, donors, and special guests The overall impact will be seen in the timeline of the
gathered to celebrate the official groundbreaking of redevelopment project. Today, the new Glassell School
the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building and the beginning of Art is expected to open in May 2018, and the Kinder
of the second phase of the campus redevelopment, Building for twentieth- and twenty-first-century art
which will realize the 164,000-square-foot building for to open in 2020. The Blaffer Foundation Center for
twentieth- and twenty-first-century art. A week prior, the Conservation construction area was not affected by
Glassell School of Art’s new, 285-space underground the flooding and remains on track to be completed
parking garage opened for public use. Above ground, by summer 2018.
construction continued on the Glassell School facility,
designed by Steven Holl Architects. Elsewhere on The Museum’s ambitious capital project would
campus, work continued on the Sarah Campbell Blaffer be impossible without the exceptional support of
Foundation Center for Conservation, designed by Houston’s communities. To date, the Museum
Lake Flato and situated above the west side of the has raised more than $389 million toward a total
Museum’s Visitors Center and parking garage. goal of $450 million for the overall campus rede-
Preliminary site work for the state-of-the-art center velopment campaign. We are truly humbled by this
concluded in early 2017, and construction began extraordinary generosity.
in April.
A complete list of donors to the campaign, as of
June 30, 2017, can be found on pages 14–15.
10