Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute Selected Catalogue 1954 1st Edition RARE Book

This rare 1st edition book from The Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute showcases a selection of fine arts, featuring various illustrators and cataloging exhibitions. Printed in English in 1954 in Dallas, Texas, this softcover book is an original piece and in great shape for its age. It contains special attributes such as being illustrated and is a must-have for any art and photography enthusiast.

The book has not been modified and is an authentic piece from the United States. This vintage book from 1954 is a brilliant and incredible book that any art enthusiast would enjoy, making it a valuable addition to any collection.

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Marion Koogler McNay (7 February 1883 – 13 April 1950), was an American painter, art collector, and art teacher who inherited a substantial oil fortune upon the death of her parents. She later willed her fortune to be used to establish San Antonio's first museum of modern art, which today bears her name.[2] Inspired by Modern, Impressionistic, and American art, she used her wealthy background to cultivate her eclectic art collection. McNay was able to design her San Antonio home after moving there in 1926. As soon as McNay moved to San Antonio, she began buying and commissioning art pieces. The Spanish styled house was able to showcase a diverse amount of paintings, including both American and European styled art. McNay favored art made in the Southwestern American style. The fortune she inherited funded her art collection that included over seven hundred works by 1950,[3] the year of her passing. McNay's home, art collection, property, and an endowment were left to the city of San Antonio after her death. McNay's goal was to provide the people of San Antonio "a place of beauty with the comforts and warmth of a home."

In 1926, after the death of her father, Marion moved to San Antonio with her mother and married Dr. Donald Atkinson. On his property, she began to construct a Spanish Mediterranean style mansion, designing some of the tilework and ceiling stencils herself. [2] The mansion was completed in 1927.[8] She also began to accumulate a significant collection of artwork. The first oil painting she purchased was Diego Rivera's Delfina Flores. She collected a large number of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works of art as well as works created by early 20th-century modernists including Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall. She also bought a number of Southwestern santos and retablos.[7] Alongside these paintings and photographs, Native American pottery, sculptures, prints and designs were accumulated through her own purchases and later posthumous donations and acquisitions.

Marion was a significant patron of the arts of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, who she visited frequently.[7] Although raised Presbyterian, McNay converted to Catholicism under the wisdom and teachings of Reverend Peter Baque, the founder of The Missionary Servants of St. Anthony. McNay donated to the organization frequently. In 1943, Congress proposed a bill providing for the exploration of Pueblo lands with the ultimate goal of building a dam on the Rio Grande. Marion, in conjunction with other conservationists, was instrumental in defeating this proposal.[2] Later McNay requested to be buried next to Reverend Baque in San Antonio after his death in 1938.

Upon her death, Marion left her art collection of more than 700 works of art, her mansion, the surrounding 23 acres of land, and an endowment to establish the first modern art museum in Texas.[9] This was the first museum of its kind in San Antonio and the southwest region of the United States. The museum was named to recognize and honor Marion and has been considered the centerpiece of San Antonio art community and culture. The museum has expanded to include galleries of medieval and Renaissance artwork and a larger collection of 20th-century European and American modernist work. A large theatre arts library and gallery were also added, as well as an art reference library and an auditorium. In 2008, the Stieren Center was added to the original building by internationally-renowned architect Jean-Paul Viguier to create additional gallery space for large-scale and traveling exhibitions.

The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion that sits on 23 acres (9.3 ha) that are landscaped with fountains, broad lawns and a Japanese-inspired garden and fishpond.

McNay was an American painter and art teacher who inherited a substantial oil fortune upon the death of her father. The museum was named after her, and has been expanded to include galleries of medieval and Renaissance artwork and a larger collection of 20th-century European and American modernist work. She built a home in 1927 designed by Atlee Ayres and his son Robert M. Ayres. Upon her death, the house was bequeathed to the City of San Antonio to house the museum.[2]

The museum focuses primarily on 19th- and 20th-century European and American art by such artists as Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O'Keeffe, Diego Rivera, Mary Cassatt, and Edward Hopper. The collection today consists of over 20,000 objects[3] and is one of the finest collections of contemporary art and sculpture in the Southwestern United States. The museum also is home to the Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts, which is one of the premiere collections of its kind in the U.S., and a research library with over 30,000 volumes.

The McNay Art Museum added the Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions in 2008, built by architect Jean-Paul Viguier, to display their Modern collection.[4] The 45,000-square-foot structure houses light-filled galleries for special exhibitions, a glass-fronted gallery for sculpture from the museum's collection, a gallery for paper works, wall cases for small objects, and lecture hall and learning centers. The center's design, materials, and architectural details both contrast with and complement the original Spanish Colonial Revival-style residence, which it adjoins.