The Jones Center on Congress Avenue, formerly known as the AMOA-Arthouse at the Jones Center, is one of two museum sites of the Contemporary Austin, in Texas.
Founded as the Texas Fine Arts Association (TFAA) in 1911, the organization's initial purpose was to maintain the studio and collection of sculptor Elisabet Ney, now the Elisabet Ney Museum. [1] The association's early leadership helped to establish the studio art department at the University of Texas at Austin, promote the formation of a state arts commission, and found some of the state's major art museums. [2]
In 1927, the TFAA began a visual arts touring program that brought selected works of art to communities throughout the state. [3] In 1943, Clara Driscoll deeded her Austin estate, Laguna Gloria, to the TFAA, [4] which operated the facility as an art museum until 1961, when the Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Inc. assumed that responsibility. [5] Until the end of 1998, the TFAA maintained its state headquarters in the carriage house on the property [6] and held three annual exhibitions in the main building. [7]
In 1995, the TFAA's board of directors purchased the property at 700 Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas. Three years later, in November 1998, the TFAA opened its new headquarters, the Jones Center for Contemporary Art. [6]
In November 2002, the name of the organization was officially changed from the Texas Fine Arts Association to Arthouse. [8]
In 2010, the architectural firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis (LTL) completed radical expansions and renovations to Arthouse at the Jones Center. As part of the remodeling, LTL and the New York City-based lighting design firm LumenArch installed 177 LED-lit rectangular laminated glass blocks perforating the southern and eastern walls of the building to create a "glowing" effect. [9]
In 2011, the Arthouse at the Jones Center merged with the Austin Museum of Art. [10] [11]
In 2013, the Austin Museum of Art was renamed the Contemporary Austin, with the Jones Center being designated as "The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center on Congress Avenue". [12] [11]
Trenton Doyle Hancock is an American artist working with prints, drawings, and collaged-felt paintings. Through his work, Hancock mainly aims to tell the story of the Mounds, mystical creatures that are part of the artist's world. In this sense, each new artwork is the artist's contribution to the development of Mounds.
Franzisca Bernadina Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ney was a German-American sculptor who spent the first half of her life and career in Europe, producing portraits of famous leaders such as Otto von Bismarck, Giuseppe Garibaldi and King George V of Hanover. At age 39, she immigrated to Texas with her husband, Edmund Montgomery, and became a pioneer in the development of art there. Among her most famous works during her Texas period were life-size marble figures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, commissions for the Texas State Capitol. A large group of her works are housed in the Elisabet Ney Museum, located in her home and studio in Austin. Other works can be found in the United States Capitol, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and numerous collections in Germany.
The Elisabet Ney Museum is a museum located in Austin, Texas, United States. It is housed in the former studio of sculptor Elisabet Ney and is dedicated to showcasing her life and works. There is a permanent collection of her portrait busts and personal memorabilia on display.
Luis Alfonso JiménezJr. was an American sculptor and graphic artist of Mexican descent who identified as a Chicano. He was known for portraying Mexican, Southwestern, Hispanic-American, and general themes in his public commissions, some of which are site specific. The most famous of these is Blue Mustang. Jiménez died in an industrial accident during its construction. It was commissioned by the Denver International Airport and completed after his death.
The Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria, formerly known as the AMOA-Arthouse at Laguna Gloria, is the former home of Clara Driscoll and site of a 1916 Italianate-style villa on the shores of Lake Austin in Austin, Texas. It was the original home of the Austin Museum of Art and still houses some of its collections. The building is now one of two sites of The Contemporary Austin.
LTL Architects is an architecture firm founded in 1997 by Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki and David Lewis in New York City.
The Contemporary Austin, originally known as the Austin Museum of Art, is Austin, Texas's primary contemporary art museum, consisting of two locations and an art school. The Contemporary Austin reflects the spectrum of contemporary art through exhibitions, commissions, education, and the collection. Locally, the museum is often referred to as The Contemporary.
Michael Frary was an American Modernist artist from Santa Monica, California, who was known for his interest in structural forms and architectural compositions, as well as for his Surrealist impulses. A versatile artist, Frary experimented with a range of mediums and constantly refined his approach to his subjects.
Lordy Rodriguez is a contemporary artist who uses cartography and maps to reconfigure factual locations and create fictional assemblage pieces. Inspired by family road trips across the country, Rodriguez was influenced by the maps his family used to navigate the country.
Bror Alexander Utter was a painter, printmaker, and art teacher who lived and worked his entire life in Fort Worth, Texas, but his art achieved national recognition. He worked in an array of styles ranging from landscapes influenced by Regionalism, still lifes, architectural scenes, and figurative works inspired by the theater to modernist abstractions. He was a prominent member of the Fort Worth Circle.
Tony Feher was an American sculptor. He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, in 1978. He began exhibiting fine art in 1980 and had his first solo show at Wooster Gardens in 1994, and shortly thereafter was reviewed favorably by Roberta Smith in a short article titled "Three Artists Who Favor Chaos:" "Tony Feher's chaos is actually rather well-organized and instinctively archival and devotional." Since then, notable solo exhibitions of his work have taken place at Diverseworks in Houston; Sikkema Jenkins & Co., Pace Gallery, and D’Amelio Terras in New York; ACME in Los Angeles; Anthony Meier Fine Arts in San Francisco; and The Suburban in Oak Park, Illinois.
Stephen F. Austin is a statue of Stephen F. Austin by Elisabet Ney, originally modeled in 1893.
Sam Houston is a statue of Sam Houston by Elisabet Ney, originally modeled in 1892.
Lady Macbeth is a statue of the Shakespearean character Lady Macbeth by German American sculptor Elisabet Ney. The sculpture is a life-size full-length female figure rendered in marble. Completed in 1905, Lady Macbeth is one of Ney's last works and was regarded by the artist as her masterpiece. It is housed in Washington, D.C., in the Luce Foundation Center for American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which acquired the piece in 1998.
Albert Sidney Johnston is a memorial statue of General Albert Sidney Johnston by German American sculptor Elisabet Ney. The piece is a life-size recumbent male figure rendered in marble sculpture. It depicts the General at the time of his death in the Battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War. Completed in 1903, the piece resides atop Johnston's tomb in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas, where it was installed in 1905.
Arthur Schopenhauer is a sculpture of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer by sculptor Elisabet Ney. Completed in 1859, the piece is a portrait bust rendered in marble. The bust was modeled and carved in Germany, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas, United States.
Jacob Grimm is a sculpture of German philologist Jacob Grimm by sculptor Elisabet Ney. Completed in 1858, the piece is a portrait bust rendered in marble. The bust was modeled and carved in Berlin, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas.
Ludwig II is a sculpture of King Ludwig II of Bavaria by sculptor Elisabet Ney. Completed in 1870, the piece is a portrait statue rendered in plaster. The statue was modeled and carved in Germany, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas; a marble version, completed by another sculptor, is installed in the Herrenchiemsee Palace in Bavaria.
Giuseppe Garibaldi is a sculpture of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi by German sculptor Elisabet Ney. Completed in 1866, the piece is a portrait bust rendered in marble. The portrait was modeled and carved in Italy, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas.
Coreen Mary Spellman (1905–1978) was an American printmaker, painter, and teacher active in Texas from the 1920s until her death in 1978.