VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Spirit of Modernism: The John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Gift to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will be on view August 20, 2011-January 29, 2012, February 20, 2012 displaying the newly acquired collection of 73 paintings, watercolors, drawings, sculpture, and decorative arts from the collection of the late native Houstonian and energy entrepreneur, John R. Eckel, Jr. (1951-2009). The founder of Copano Energy, a midstream natural gas company and a champion of American modernism, Eckel was actively involved with the MFAH. After his death, MFAH curators were invited to survey his collection and select works that best complement the museum?s strengths and long-term goals.

The resulting gift to the MFAH largely dates from the 1930s through the 1980s and includes oil paintings, sculpture, works on paper, sound sculptures, furniture, and metalwork. The cross-departmental exhibition is organized by several MFAH curators: Emily Ballew Neff, American Painting and Sculpture Curator; Cindi Strauss, Modern & Contemporary Decorative Arts & Design Curator; Christine Gervais, Assistant Curator, Decorative Arts; Alison de Lima Greene, Contemporary Art & Special Projects Curator; and Anne Wilkes Tucker, The Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography.

“John R. Eckel, Jr. leaves an extraordinary legacy to his hometown of Houston through this gift to the museum,” said Gwendolyn H. Goffe, MFAH Interim Director. “John was the very definition of a model citizen who, having attained great success as a businessman in the Houston community, gave back to it with great generosity.”

The majority of works will be on view in the Alice Pratt Brown Gallery and Garden of the Caroline Wiess Law Building. Additional works will be on view in the American Galleries of the Audrey Jones Beck Building.

The John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Gift strengthens the MFAH collections across several curatorial departments and sheds light on Eckel’s vision as an astute collector and generous benefactor. Among the major works on view in this show are Ralston Crawford's buoyant painting Red Barge No. 1; Shiro Kuramata's steel, mesh, and chrome chair How High the Moon; and Harry Bertoia’s gilded bronze sculpture Untitled (Multi-Plane Construction), measuring over 10 feet high.

Read more about this exhibition.

Pictured above:   Harry Bertoia, Untitled (Multi-Plane Construction), c. 1953, gilded copper and brass. Gift of the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation.