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THE
ELIZABET NEY MUSEUM 304
East 44th Street
Austin,
Texas
Text and photos by
John Troesser
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by Elizabet Ney |
| The
Elizabet Ney Museum sits in a residential neighborhood on 44th Street off of Avenue
G. It's an unusual location for a museum - but nothing about the place (or Elizabet
Ney) is usual. |
| Interior
of Elizabet Ney's studio. |
|
Ney had her fortress-like studio built in 1892 and would commute on horseback
from her home at Liendo
Plantation in Hempstead,
Texas - a good 110 miles. She would camp out en route and spend weeks in Austin
while her husband wrote and lived the life of a hermit-philosopher at Liendo.
Ney's European circle of friends included some pretty influential people
- many of whom had their likeness recorded by Ney. Her Austin
friends would often come to her studio and if it became too crowded she'd throw
out a few statues to make room. The studio was preserved after Ney's death in
1907. |
| | A
cherub model for a tombstone |
| The
photo above is a model Ney sculpted for a tombstone that stands today in a Fredericksburg
cemetery. After her own son died of a fever - she made a cast of his small body
that she kept until her death. Her doctor recommended cremation out of fear of
contagion and she performed the sad task herself. This may have started the "madness"
rumors. |
| Elizabet
Ney's studio "Formosa" in Austin |
| One
of the few items not of clay, plaster or stone |
 | . |  |
Left
- A sampling of some of the busts on display
Right - Gate stone inscription
1939 |
| Ney's
northern light window at her studio. |
| A
self-carved bust of the sculptor on display at Liendo |
The
museum has a third story that can still be visited by climbing a rather tight
spiral staircase. Ney would sometimes sleep on the roof of the building in the
summer and since space was at a premium she had a bookcase built onto the back
of the door leading to the roof.
It is one of Texas' oldest museums
and unquestionably one of the most unusual. The sculptures and personal items
are on loan from the University of Texas.
Admission is free and there
is seldom a crowd.
Elizabet Ney is buried at Liendo
Plantation in Hempstead,
Texas.
© John Troesser
May 2002
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Texas | Liendo Plantation
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