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63-559: The MFAH's permanent collection totals nearly 70,000 pieces in over 300,000 square feet (28,000 m) of exhibition space, placing it among the larger art museums in the United States. The museum's collections and programs are housed in nine facilities. The Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus encompasses 14 acres including seven of the facilities, with two additional facilities, Bayou Bend and Rienzi ( house museums ) at off site locations. The main public collections and exhibitions are in

126-454: A "memory museum", which is a term used to suggest that the museum contains a collection of the traces of memory of the people who once lived there. It is often made up of the inhabitants' belongings and objects – this approach is mostly concerned with authenticity . Some museums are organised around the person who lived there or the social role the house had. Other historic house museums may be partially or completely reconstructed in order to tell

189-669: A collection consistent with the historical structure. Some museums choose to collect pieces original to the period, while not original to the house. Others, fill the home with replicas of the original pieces, reconstructed with the help of historic records. Still other museums adopt a more aesthetic approach and use the homes to display the architecture and artistic objects. Because historic homes have often existed through different generations and have been passed on from one family to another, volunteers and professionals also must decide which historical narrative to tell their visitors. Some museums grapple with this issue by displaying different eras in

252-658: A private American institution, the Houston museum is not bound by the same moral criteria as the German government". In a highly unusual move, the Monuments Men Foundation published a critical analysis of the provenance research conducted by the researcher hired by the MFAH, noting that she had failed to check the back of the painting for labels and substituted personal opinion in the place of evidence. The Report

315-486: A professor of history and political science, further adds to social history and its relationship to locations by saying – Following this historical movement, the concept of " open-air museums " became prominent. These particular types of museums had interpreters in costume re-enact the lives of communities in earlier eras, which would then be performed to modern audiences. They often occupied large wooden architecture buildings or outdoor sites and landscapes, that were true to

378-568: A sculpture garden; a facility for conservation, storage and archives; and an administrative building with the Glassell Junior school of Art. Prior to the opening of the permanent museum building in 1924, George M. Dickson bequeathed to the collection its first important American and European oil paintings. In the 1930s, Houstonian Annette Finnigan began her donation of antiquities and Texas philanthropist Ima Hogg gave her collection of avant-garde European prints and drawings. Ima Hogg's gift

441-524: A special unit that found and confiscated the best material in Nazi-occupied countries, to use for exploitation. In France , the ERR engaged in an extensive and elaborate art looting operation, part of Hitler 's much larger premeditated scheme to steal art treasures from conquered nations. The albums were created for Hitler and high-level Nazi officials as a catalogue and, more importantly, to give Hitler

504-527: A way to choose the art for his art museum, the Führermuseum , which was planned to be built in Austria . A group of these photograph albums was presented to Hitler on his birthday in 1943, to "send a ray of beauty and joy into [his] revered life". ERR staff stated that nearly 100 such volumes were created during the years of their art looting operation. In November 2007, at a ceremony with Archivist of

567-400: A year, more than fifty percent of historic house museums received fewer than 5,000 visitors per year. These museums are also unique in that the actual structure belongs to the museum collection as a historical object. While some historic home museums are fortunate to possess a collection containing many of the original furnishings once present in the home, many face the challenge of displaying

630-601: Is loosely based on the non-fiction book The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter. It follows an Allied group from the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program who are tasked with finding and saving pieces of art and other culturally important items before Nazis destroy them during World War II after the " Nero Decree ". The film stars an ensemble cast including George Clooney , Matt Damon , Bill Murray , John Goodman , Jean Dujardin , Bob Balaban , Hugh Bonneville , and Cate Blanchett . A formal portrait

693-551: Is not only associated with the individual but is a shared experience. It also focused on the way individual memory is influenced by social structures, as a way of continuing socialisation by producing memory as collective experience. An example of a site that utilizes collective memory is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. It was restored and is based on the dialectics of memory, however it also has

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756-566: Is preserved as a museum . Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of standards, including those of the International Council of Museums . Houses are transformed into museums for a number of different reasons. For example, the homes of famous writers are frequently turned into writer's home museums to support literary tourism . Historic house museums are sometimes known as

819-572: Is titled: "Monuments Men Foundation Analysis of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Research Report on Bernardo Bellotto, Marketplace at Pirna, prepared by Ms. Laurie Stein". The challenge to the Museum's ownership of the painting was definitively resolved in May 2024, when the United States Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the decision of the lower courts to dismiss the lawsuit and ruled in

882-672: The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)." On December 16, 2016, the foundation, in conjunction with Dr Nick Mueller and the National World War II Museum , facilitated the return to Germany of a 16th-century Burgundian tapestry, referred to as "Hitler's Tapestry", that once hung in Adolf Hitler 's Kehlsteinhaus or Eagle's Nest , in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Edsel first saw the tapestry in

945-548: The Courtauld Gallery , and the Berlin State Museums . In March 2022, the foundation announced the creation of WWII Most Wanted Art™ playing cards, featuring 52 works of art that are still missing today—to engage the public in the search and return of these paintings, sculptures, and other cultural objects. During the course of their research into the whereabouts of lost art, Edsel and the staff of

1008-625: The Courtauld Institute of Art and John Cabot University ) was nominated the foundation's new president. The foundation launched the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network in 2021. Participating institutions have a direct connection to a least one member of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program —known as the "monuments men and women" —and include the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum ,

1071-553: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, where it had been donated by Cathy Hinz, the daughter Lt. Col. Paul Danahy of the 101st Airborne . In collaboration with the museum and Hinz, Edsel and his team established that Danahy had removed the tapestry from the Eagle's Nest and subsequently sent it home as a souvenir where it hung in the family dining room. Further research by the foundation's team located Konrad Bernheimer,

1134-617: The Nazis would inevitably confiscate the works if they refused to sell. Since Bernheimer ultimately made no claim to the tapestry, it was returned to the Bavarian National Museum , the official heir to property once owned by Hitler, Göring, and the Nazi Party. The Monuments Men and Women Foundation is one of the recipients of the 2007 National Humanities Medals . The award cited it for "sustained efforts to recognize

1197-686: The United States Mint and their team of artists on the design of the Congressional Gold Medal honouring the Monuments Men Foundation; featuring a quote from General Eisenhower . The foundation launched the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network in 2021. The international network was created to recognize the pre and postwar contributions of the Monuments Men and Women , who influenced the growth and success of member institutions. The 2014 film The Monuments Men

1260-551: The 1970s and 1980s, as the Revolutionary War's bicentennial set off a wave of patriotism and alerted Americans to the destruction of their physical heritage. The tradition of restoring homes of the past and designating them as museums draws on the English custom of preserving ancient buildings and monuments. Initially homes were considered worthy of saving because of their associations with important individuals, usually of

1323-682: The Caribbean, and artists of Latin American descent living and working in the United States. Through the ICAA, the MFAH brought a long-term transformation in the appreciation and understanding of Latin American and Latinx visual arts in the United States and abroad. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is known for the diversity and inclusivity of their collection and exhibitions. They tend to promote more art pieces that bring people together and that they can relate to and understand, despite their differences. In

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1386-770: The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History , Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis, and The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History: the Story of the Monuments Men. The film The Monuments Men , scripted, directed by, and starring George Clooney , is based on Edsel's best-seller and was released in February 2014 and has been shown in over 100 countries. The film was also privately shown at

1449-631: The Innocents (They Might Be Guilty of Something), educate on similar themes of oppression and its layers, as well as the impact on the African American community from multiple generations’ perspective. On many occasions, local artists commissioned or employed by the museum will showcase their work outside of the museum in various gallery locations in Houston. Specifically, these are conducted in areas with higher rates of African American residency. These galleries are typically established to promote

1512-668: The Law, Beck, and Kinder buildings. The Law and Beck buildings have over 130,000 square feet (12,000 m) of exhibition space. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is the oldest art museum in Texas. In 1917, the museum site was dedicated by the Houston Public School Art League (later the Houston Art League) with the intention of becoming a public art museum. The first museum building was opened to

1575-605: The Monuments Men and Women Foundation discovered four large, leather-bound photograph albums which documented portions of the European art looted by the Nazis . The albums were in the possession of heirs to an American soldier stationed in the Berchtesgaden area of Germany, in the closing days of World War II . The albums were created by the staff of the Third Reich's Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR),

1638-593: The Monuments Men. The foundation's mission and accomplishments have received bipartisan recognition by President George W. Bush , President Barack Obama , Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , Speaker of the House John Boehner and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ; as well as many other members of Congress and celebrities. Robert M. Edsel is the foundation's current chairman of the board. In November 2019, Anna Bottinelli (an alumna of

1701-787: The Museum's favor. The ruling was the third appeal to reject the plaintiffs’ claim of ownership. Arts of Africa, the Indigenous Pacific Islands, Australia, and the Americas [* = mixed media: ** = painted wood: *** = earthenware] Arts of Asia and the Islamic Worlds Antiquities European and American painting (1400–1899) [all oil on canvas except: ** = tempera & gold leaf on panel; * = oil on panel] Impressionism, postimpressionism, and early modern art [all oil on canvas unless noted otherwise] Philippe de Montebello directed

1764-546: The Preservation of Art The Monuments Men and Women Foundation , formerly known as the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art , is an American IRS -approved 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, which honors the legacy of those who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program during and after World War II , more commonly known as the Monuments Men and Women. Today,

1827-530: The United States , Allen Weinstein , Edsel announced the discovery of the first two photograph albums and, separately, donated the albums to the National Archives . Weinstein called the discovery "one of the most significant finds related to Hitler's premeditated theft of art and other cultural treasures to be found since the Nuremberg trials ". Based in part on the research of the foundation, it

1890-625: The White House for members of President Barack Obama 's administration. The organization was one of the recipients of the 2007 National Humanities Medals presented by President George W. Bush . On October 22, 2015, after nine years of tireless work, the foundation succeeded in having the United States Congress present the Monuments Men and Women, of all 14 nations, with the Congressional Gold Medal ,

1953-426: The advent of both accession endowment funding and corporate giving. In 1974, John and Audrey Jones Beck placed on long-term loan fifty Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, augmenting the museum's already strong Impressionist collection. This collection would never leave the MFAH, formally entering its holdings in 1998 as a gift of Life Trustee Audrey Jones Beck. The collection is permanently displayed in

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2016-585: The artistic and historical education to members of the Black community with explanations from the artists themselves. Regardless of the contents and target audience, all are welcome to join and learn. With approximately 70,000 works of art, the largest part of the museum's collection lie in the areas of Italian Renaissance painting, French Impressionism, photography, American and European decorative arts, African and pre-Columbian gold, American art, and post-1945 European and American painting and sculpture. Other facets of

2079-547: The building that bears her name. On the heels of the Cullen Foundation's funding of the MFAH's first accessions endowment in 1970, the Brown Foundation, Inc., launched a challenge grant in 1976 that would stay in effect for twenty years raising funds for both accessions and operational costs in landmark amounts and providing incentive for additional community support. Also in 1976, the photography collection

2142-508: The collection include African-American art and Texas painting. Emerging collection interests of modern and contemporary Latin American art, including the artwork of all Texas Latino artists, Asian art, and Islamic art continue to strengthen the museum's collection diversity. As a result of its encyclopedic collection, the museum ranks nationally among the top ten art museums in attendance. Since 2019 Hossein Afshar Collection, one of

2205-408: The context of African American art, they have numerous pieces dedicated to telling the stories, heritage, and lifestyles of these artists and their community within their collection. The majority of these works are part of their Modern and Contemporary Art collection and engage in many themes prominent to the African American community such as racial discrimination, civil rights and racial injustice, and

2268-491: The contributions of the scholar-soldiers of the Second World War". The award was presented by the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush . The Foundation's good work helps commemorate the Monuments Men's efforts to rescue and preserve priceless artworks during World War II. The Monuments Men and Women received the Congressional Gold Medal on October 22, 2015, after President Barack Obama signed

2331-403: The elite classes, like former presidents, authors, or businessmen. Increasingly, Americans have fought to preserve structures characteristic of a more typical American past that represents the lives of everyday people. Historic house museums usually operate with small staffs and on limited budgets. Many are run entirely by volunteers and often do not meet the professional standards established by

2394-420: The era, adding to authenticity. Collective memory is sometimes used in the resurrection of historic house museums; however, not all historic house museums use this approach. The notion of collective memory originated from philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs , in "La Memoire Collective" ("On Collective Memory", 1950). This extended thesis examines the role of people and place, and how collective memory

2457-529: The existence of ERR cards for both paintings. ERR cards were a crucial part of the Nazi cataloguing system of looted works and are evidence that the paintings were indeed taken as part of the Third Reich 's systematic looting process. The Nazi ERR code is still visible on the stretcher of Saint Justa, while it appears to have been rubbed off from the same position on the stretcher of Saint Rufina. The discovery

2520-527: The fifteenth to twentieth centuries, contemporary painting and sculpture, and African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian art. Among these are the gifts of Life Trustees Sarah Campbell Blaffer , Dominique de Menil and Alice N. Hanzsen as well as that of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation . Augmented by museum purchases, the permanent collection numbered 12,000 objects by 1970. The MFAH collection nearly doubled from 1970 to 1989, fueled by continued donations of art along with

2583-404: The foundation continues their mission by recovering Nazi looted artworks, documents, and other cultural objects and returning them to their rightful owners. Raising public awareness is essential to the foundation's mission of "Restitution, Education and Preservation". It was founded in 2007 by Robert M. Edsel , author of Rescuing Da Vinci , The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and

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2646-483: The generational impacts of slavery and racism. In 2020, the museum presented the exhibition, Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, which featured the works of numerous black artists expressing the revolutionary achievements of the black community and establishing their identity in the 1960s and 1980s. Work currently displayed in the galleries, such as Kehinde Wiley's Judith and Holofernes and Kara Walker's Slaughter of

2709-541: The grandson of the Jewish, Munich-based art dealer who sold the tapestry to Hitler's architect in 1938. Bernheimer told Edsel directly that he believed its sale was not forced as the full price was paid. Thomas R. Kline, a Washington D.C .-based attorney who specializes in art restitution, advised the foundation on the case and said multiple factors can go into determining if a sale was forced. Kline suggested that some Jewish gallery owners decided to sell collections for fear

2772-502: The highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States. Four living members of the MFAA attended the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, including Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger and Monuments Woman Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite . The creation of the Monuments Men Foundation was announced by Robert M. Edsel during a ceremony on June 6, 2007, the 63rd anniversary of D-Day , that celebrated Senate and House concurrent resolutions honoring

2835-663: The history of the painting.  After the MFAH refused to restitute the painting the Emden heirs filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas. The museum, which had rejected the Emden heirs’ claims since 2007, disagreed with the characterization of the painting as having been subject to a forced or duress sale due to Nazi persecution. MFAH director Gary Tinterow stated that Emden sold the painting voluntarily and, that after consulting provenance and legal experts, “we concluded that we had good title.” Tinterow argued that "as

2898-419: The home's history within different rooms or sections of the structure. Others choose one particular narrative, usually the one deemed most historically significant, and restore the home to that particular period. There are a number of organizations around the world that dedicate themselves to the preservation, restoration, or promotion of historic house museums. They include: Monuments Men Foundation for

2961-446: The inclusion of joyous festivals to mask the turmoil. The Hiroshima Traces (1999) text takes a look at the importance of collective memory and how it is embedded in culture and place. Thus, collective memory does not only reside in a house or building, but it also resonates in outdoor space – particularly when a monumental event has occurred, such as war. Problematic creation of collective memory occurs within historic house museums when

3024-681: The initial bill in June 2014. Speaker of the House, John Boehner served as the Master of Ceremony at the event which took place in Washington D.C . Additional speakers at the event included then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid , House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi , Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger , Monuments Woman Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite and Robert M. Edsel. The foundation worked alongside officials from

3087-459: The museum from 1969 to 1974. During the 28-year tenure of Peter Marzio between 1982 and 2010, the Museum of Fine Arts’ yearly attendance increased to roughly two million from 300,000; its operating budget climbed to $ 52 million from $ 5 million, and its endowment reached $ 1 billion (before the 2008 recession dropped its value to about $ 800 million). The museum's permanent collection more than tripled in size, to 63,000 works from 20,000. In 2010, Marzio

3150-553: The museum industry. An independent survey conducted by Peggy Coats in 1990 revealed that sixty-five percent of historic house museums did not have a full-time staff, and 19 to 27 percent of historic homes employed only one full-time employee. Furthermore, the majority of these museums operated on less than $ 50,000 annually. The survey also revealed a significant disparity in the number of visitors between local house museums and national sites. While museums like Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg were visited by over one million tourists

3213-403: The narrative of all people who lived there is dangerous. While some plantation museum narratives have changed following an outcry from the public and the academy, "plantation museums reflect, create, and contribute to racialized ways of understanding and organizing the world" by limiting or eliminating the narrative of the enslaved inhabitants. A degree of authenticity is also to be considered in

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3276-491: The narrative of non-family members is dismissed, ignored, or completely rejected. Within the Southern United States, plantation museums (the former homes of enslavers) constitute a significant portion of the museum community and contribute to the racialized collective memory of the United States. Because museums are responsible for "the building of identity, cultural memory and community", neglecting to include

3339-472: The previous inhabitants through an explanation and exploration of social history . The idea of a historic house museum derives from a branch of history called social history that is solely based on people and their way of living. It became very popular in the mid-twentieth century among scholars who were interested in the history of people, as opposed to political and economical issues. Social history remains an influential branch of history. Philip J. Ethington,

3402-468: The public good and the preservation of American history, especially centered on the first U.S. president, General George Washington. Since the establishment of the country's first historic site in 1850, Washington's Revolutionary headquarters in New York, Americans have found a penchant for preserving similar historical structures. The establishment of historic house museums increased in popularity through

3465-556: The public in 1924. The original building, designed by Houston architect William Ward Watkin in the Greek Neoclassical style, is the first art museum built in Texas. Today the MFAH encompasses three buildings, the Caroline Wiess Law, Audrey Jones Beck, and Nancy and Rich Kinder buildings, that house its primary collections and temporary exhibitions; two decorative arts house museums; The Glassell studio art school;

3528-405: The restoration and creation of a historic house museum. The space must be authentic in terms of truly replicating and representing the way it once stood in its original form and appear to be untouched and left in time. There are three steps when declaring if a space is authentic: The earliest projects for preserving historic homes began in the 1850s under the direction of individuals concerned with

3591-512: The story of a particular area, social-class or historical period. The " narrative " of the people who lived there guides this approach, and dictates the manner in which it is completed. Another alternative approach, deployed by nonprofit organization House Museum , includes contemporary art integration, where artists are invited to respond to the physical and conceptual history of a site, thus injecting contemporary perspectives and value into historic places. In each kind of museum, visitors learn about

3654-453: The world's most distinguished private collections of Persian art, is on loan to MFAH. The museum has organised two exhibitions of this collection. In 2021 the Monuments Men Foundation announced that it had located a painting from the collection of Max Emden in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH). According to the foundation, the painting by Bernardo Bellotto , called The Marketplace at Pirna , had an inaccurate provenance that concealed

3717-563: Was covered by the Dallas Morning News and other notable outlets. Edsel noted that University and museum officials had "publicly acknowledged the correct provenance of these two paintings by Murillo, and more importantly, have now, by recognizing the Nazi theft of the artwork on the museum's website, contemporaneously endorsed the 'best practices' guidelines of both the American Association of Museums (AAM) and

3780-525: Was established in 2009 that two paintings on display at Southern Methodist University 's Meadows Museum , created by Spanish master Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618–1682) were stolen from the Rothschild family in Paris in 1941. The paintings are of Seville 's two patron saints, Saint Justa and Saint Rufina , and are estimated to be worth more than US$ 10 million. The foundation's research confirmed

3843-625: Was established with Target Stores’ first corporate grant to the museum. Today the museum is the sixth-largest in the country. In 2001, the MFAH, established the International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA), the leading research institute for 20th-century Latin American and Latino art. The ICAA has been a pioneer in collecting, exhibiting and researching the diverse artistic production of Latin American and Latinx communities, including artists from Mexico, Central and South America,

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3906-415: Was followed by the subsequent donations of her Southwest Native American and Frederic Remington collections during the 1940s. The same decade witnessed the 1944 bequest of eighty-three Renaissance paintings, sculptures and works on paper from renowned New York collectors Edith and Percy Straus. Over the next two decades, gifts from prominent Houston families and foundations concentrated on European art from

3969-561: Was the sixth-highest-paid charity chief executive in the country, with compensation in 2008 of $ 1,054,939. A year after Peter Marzio died in 2010, Gary Tinterow was appointed as the museum's director. Mari Carmen Ramírez is a Puerto Rican Art curator and the Wortham Curator of Latin American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. House museums A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that

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