Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

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Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a museum in Houston , Texas in the United States . It is a museum without its own collections (non-collecting museum) and a non-profit organization .

History of the museum

The museum was founded in 1948 by a group of Houston citizens, including Walter Farmer , who in 1945 was responsible for the securing of works of art in defeated Germany by US troops. The aim of the foundation was to show ancient art to the citizens of the city and to demonstrate the role of the arts in modern life. The first exhibitions took place at various locations within Houston, including the Museum of Fine Arts .

The success of the first exhibitions meant that a small, fully equipped new museum building could be built in 1950. In addition to artists of classical European modernism, works by John Biggers and his students from the newly developing Texas Negro College , today's Texas Southern University, were shown. From 1957, the museum, which was previously run by volunteers, had to seek professional help. In the 1960s, an exhibition with works by Robert Rauschenberg was a great success.

The continuing success of the museum made a new building necessary. This building, designed by the architect Gunnar Birkerts , was used from 1972. Since then, works by internationally known artists, such as the Englishman Tony Cragg , and artists from the USA, including Richard Long , have been shown in the museum. In 1997 the museum was completely renovated.

Publications

Exhibitions

Web links

Coordinates: 29 ° 43 ′ 35 "  N , 95 ° 23 ′ 29.5"  W.