McNay Art Museum

On a misty, rain-soaked afternoon, Jerry and I decided it was the perfect day to visit the McNay Art Museum. I had put the bug in his ear weeks earlier and we couldn't have asked for a better day to be inside. Located about 20 miles from our house, we drove through beautiful, older neighborhoods to find the museum. The McNay Art Museum was the former home of Marion Koogler McNay. And what a home it was--a mansion of beauty and charm.



Built in 1927, the mansion is a 24-room Spanish Colonial-Revival that is elaborate without being gaudy. It sits on 23 acres of surrounding land and boasts a courtyard that is lush and calming.





Mrs. McNay was an avid art collector. The very first painting she ever bought was Diego Rivera’s Delfina Flores.



She passed away in 1950, but made sure that her artwork would not only be protected, but enjoyed by everyone. She left behind a collection 700 pieces of amazing art. An endowment she created helped start the first museum of modern art in Texas which opened its doors in 1954.

The collections has grown to more than 20,000 works that includes:
•Medieval and Renaissance art.
•19th- through 21st- century European and American paintings, sculptures and photographs.
•One of the finest collections of prints and drawings in the Southwest.
•The exceptional Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts.

The museum has a visiting exhibition featuring the reclaimed artwork of Jacques Goudstikker. I really enjoyed these paintings. They were Dutch "Golden Age" paintings of the 17th century, and a handful of Renaissance paintings. I find myself drawn to paintings from this era.

We were looking at original artwork from 400-500 years ago. It's mind blowing to think that something hanging on the wall right in front of me was painted so long ago. Colors were vibrant and clear, while others were soft and muted. Clear lines, delicate brushwork on canvases that were created by natural light. No lightbulbs helped the artists. They couldn't just go down to their local Hobby Lobby and pick up a tube of paint. They had to make their own paint fresh every day.

I love the Old Masters more than the modern stuff. I admit it. In one gallery, they hung all the modern paintings and scultpures. There was a painting of a trash bag. Just a trash bag. I don't get it. Sorry. Lots of squiggly lines on one painting. No rhyme, no reason, no clarity. Just a squiggly mess.

We didn't stay long in that gallery. Some people love that kind of stuff. Not me.

Another exhibit they have is the The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper. This was a beautiful, and touching collection. I have to share what the museum had to say about the collection:

San Antonians Harmon and Harriet Kelley began collecting African American art in the 1980s. Since that time, their collection has grown quantitatively and qualitatively to become one of the finest such collections in public or private hands in the United States. Every room of their home is full of museum-quality paintings, drawings, and prints illustrating the rich history of African American art from the late 19th century to the present. The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper, featuring nearly 100 prints, drawings, and watercolors, is a wonderful introduction to the riches of their collection and also a remarkable and unique survey of more than a century of American art. A rare opportunity to see these privately held treasures, this exhibition also serves as an advocate for greater understanding and appreciation of the contributions made by African Americans to art history.

Harmon and Harriet Kelley were prescient as collectors, buying works of art at a time when not many other collectors were interested. Hence, their collection contains many works which are not to be seen anywhere else. Among the earliest and rarest works in the exhibition are prints by the 19-century printmaker Grafton Taylor Brown, the first documented professional graphic artist to work on the West Coast. The exhibition is also particularly rich in works by artists of the 1930s and 40s, which document in strikingly beautiful and personal ways the growing awareness of African American heritage and identity. Among the artists included in the exhibition whose work focused on the African American experience are Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, and Jacob Lawrence. The exhibition also includes contemporary works by Alison Saar and Robert Colescott. In all, more than 50 different artists are represented by works in the exhibition.

I admit I am ignorant about African American artists. I enjoyed walking from gallery to gallery admiring the work I saw. There was one particular one that grabbed my heart and literally almost made me cry.



You can just feel the emotion breathe from this artwork. I find it powerfully sad.

If you ever get a chance to visit the McNay Art Museum, I highly recommend it.