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    Hidden Treasures

    Behind closed doors at MFAH: When the art needs its beauty rest

    Joseph Campana
    Dec 7, 2011 | 10:36 am
    • Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
    • Henry Farrer, A Calm Afternoon, Long Island, 1876
    • Francesco Solimena, The Royal Hunt of Dido and Aeneas, c. 1712-14
    • Frederic Remington, Fight for the Waterhole, 1903

     Editor's Note: From time to time, CultureMap contributor Joseph Campana takes a peek behind closed doors of some of Houston's great arts institutions.

    Imagine you're in limbo. Art limbo.

    If you happen to be in art limbo at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, you might be (as I was) in Storage Area Five. You would probably be thinking (as I was) about how much art you don't see when you visit a major museum already packed with more treasures than you can take in on any one visit.

    And as I learned, there's even more than you would imagine. Happily, I had Emily Neff, curator of American Painting and Sculpture, as my guide in the cavernous reaches of the MFAH basement.

     More than a Museum can hold

    "We have a million storage places," Neff confided, and rapidly named more than I could keep track of. She even hinted at some whose locations weren't supposed to be known.

     

      An 'Object Orphanage' keeps track of re-filing, reframing, preservation or any number of other procedures that keep the works ready to go on display, on loan, or to sink back into the dark slumber of storage 

    But there's no mystery about the disparity between exhibition space and the size of the MFAH's collection. The collection includes 63,718 works, of which only 6,465 are currently on view. Although 10 percent of the overall collection is on view at any one time, Neff's American Painting and Sculpture collection does a little better. Of some 500 pre-1945 American painting and sculpture artworks in the collection, roughly 28 percent are on view.

    There were crates, open shelves and large metal grates that slid out of the wall to reveal countless treasures. A list on the wall titled "Object Orphanage" caught my eye.

    "What is that?" I asked.

    Neff explained it as an attempt to account for the traffic in objects moving around the vast basement, either for re-filing, reframing, preservation or any number of other procedures that keep the works in the collection ready to go on display, on loan, or to sink back into the dark slumber of storage. Limbo indeed.

     Preserving slumber

    Of course, works of art do need their beauty rest.

    "When you're dealing with works on paper," Neff told me, "they have to be stored and not shown very much. For every month something is on view, it's on rest for a year. If it's up for four months, it has to rest for four years." This includes watercolors, prints, drawings and even photographs.

    It's a complex schedule that determines any given exhibition, but without such storage many works would not survive. "This is about the preservation of the collection for the future," Neff insisted. "Some might think that a work can't be good if it's not on view, but there's nothing further from the truth. It's not about you or me, but about 100 years from now."

    I know myself how hard it is not to be greedy in the face of great art. On my last trip to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, my favorite painting in that collection, Caravaggio's The Card Sharps, was nowhere to be found. In a panic, I asked a guard. Had it been sold or stolen?

    Less dramatically, it was vacationing in Ottawa at the National Gallery of Canada for the opening of Caravaggio and His Followers, which is on view at the Kimbell through Jan. 8, 2012.

    I told Neff about this experience, who smiled and said, "If Frederic Remington's Fight for the Waterhole is not on view, I will get phone calls about it. This is true for other paintings. In a way, you're thrilled to get those phone calls. It matters; people care about those works."

     

      When you're dealing with works on paper, they have to be stored and not shown very much. For every month something is on view, it's on rest for a year. 

     Waking works

    So what's currently in limbo at the MFAH, waiting to cycle back in view? Plenty, but I asked Neff to select three works from her department.

    As we made our way over to the correct area, we passed an arresting canvas: Francesco Solimena's The Royal Hunt of Dido and Aeneas, resting against a wall. The temptation to reach out and touch was intense, and I realized I had never been so close to a work without the presence of rope, glass or guards.

    But Neff had other treasures in mind. First, a sweet and subtle watercolor by Henry Farrer called A Calm Afternoon, Long Island (1876). Neff described Farrer as the founder of the American watercolor movement, as watercolors became "one of the dominant forms in American art" and not merely for use in diaries or other private venues.

    Often framed in exhibitions as paintings, these new watercolors were sharp and vivid and not unlike the Hudson River school. Farrer's luminous canvas invites you to look at the calm sea, people in their gardens, laundry on a line and the dense foliage that looks out on the Long Island sound. The detail is laser-like, the finish impeccable, and from afar you might not realize it's a watercolor.

     A Calm Afternoon, Long Island is the only Henry Farrer in the collection, and it was last on view in 2000 for an American watercolor show to celebrate the opening of the Beck building. "Then everything we had had to rest for years," Neff said. But Farrer, now well-rested, will be back on view this summer.

    Stored near Farrer was E. Martin Henning's 1924 Passing By. "This is considered the great masterpieces of his career," Neff told me. The American-born, German-trained painter was part of the Taos Society of Artists, the oldest such collective west of the Mississippi. Founded around the turn of the 20th century, the Taos Society sought to observe and record the indigenous cultures of the southwest.

    "Part of their approach," Neff said, "was to paint the living American Indian. They had an appreciation for non-nomadic cultures that had dug into the earth for thousands of years. For better or worse, artists coming from a modern, urban context really idolized that. Some would say these artists fetishize Native American culture, but their intent was also preservation."

    If Farrer's Calm Afternoon, offers a luminous but washed out light, Passing By positively blazes. A series of aspens have turned utterly golden. Three Native Americans ride horses through the painting, and there is incredible attention paid to saddles, blankets, and rope. A slight bluish tint to the horse looks perfectly natural beneath the vibrant deep blue sky peeking through the aspens.

    Just down a few more feet was Neff's final pick, Leon Polk Smith's 1946 Open Composition, which is a relatively recent acquisition for the collection.

    Neff put the work in context, saying, "When we think of modernism, we often think of skyscrapers and industrial images. This is right, of course. But there was also a rush to the southwest, an anti-modern modernism."

     

      The MFAH collection includes 63,718 works, of which only 6,465 are currently on view. 

    Although Polk works in what Neff called "classic abstraction," he was born of Cherokee roots in Indian territory just the year before it became Oklahoma. Native patterns and rhythms were central to his work, as were the works of Piet Mondrian.

     Open Composition offers a never-quite exact pattern of gray, black and ochre squares and rectangles. There's something deceptively simple about it. The more you stare at it, the more haunting its geometry becomes.

    The basement of the MFAH may not be nearly as inviting as the treasure rooms of the MFAH, but I can't say I was ready to leave its dark recesses. Who knows what was lurking in the next rack?

    Neff herself found this out. Peeking behind a paper cover, she suddenly exclaimed, "Look at this! It's a pictograph by Adolph Gottlieb. The need for more space is real."

    It's nice to know a curator can still be surprised by her own collection.

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    Best July & August Theater

    Broadway hits and Shakespeare festival headline Houston's 12 best summer shows

    Tarra Gaines
    Jul 1, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Parade
    Photo by Joan Marcus
    Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Parade

    Lions and tigers and zebras and murder. Oh, my! From big blockbuster shows to annual chilly thrillers, summertime is some of the best time for theater in Houston. Shakespeare, jukebox musicals, mysteries, and madcap comedies always headline our summer must-sees. This year is no different, but we’re also got intriguing musical dramas, Tony Award winning Broadway shows, bittersweet love stories, and even a local world premiere. There’s no place like Houston for summer theater.

    The Wizard of Oz at A.D. Players (July 9-August 10)
    Something wicked this way comes from A.D. Players this summer. Yes, long before the musical told from certain witches’ perspectives, L. Frank Baum’s original journey to Oz began with a Kansas girl’s ride on a tornado. She found a magical and musical land filled lively lions, tin men, and scarecrows. Follow the yellow brick road to classic songs like “Over the Rainbow” and “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” but after a great adventure, learn that enduring message that there’s no place like home. Our favorite Galleria area Players say this newly imagined production will have incredible production values to delight the whole family.

    Crabs in a Bucket at MATCH (July 10-19)
    This satire comes by Houston-raised, nationally acclaimed playwright Bernardo Cubría gets its first regional production with a stellar local cast. Amargo and Pootz are two bitter crabs living in a shucking bucket. They spend their days judging the other crabs that got out, the ones who couldn't take it, and the losers who still live among them. When a new crab arrives filled with hope and change, they are faced with who they once were and their incessant dream of getting the shuck out. Any similarities between this crabby circumstance and human relationships are purely intentional.

    The Mirror Crack’d at Alley Theatre (July 11-August 17)
    Move over Hercule Poirot and you too Sherlock, because it takes a woman to untangle all the mysterious threads of jealousy, lies, and ambition in those seemingly charming English towns. One of Agatha Christie’s greatest detectives, Miss Marple, uses a cheerful and kind-auntie demeanor to disguise a keen intellect and nose for solving crime. For this Miss Marple case, the filming of a star-studded movie in a quaint village leads to a chilling murder, and everyone becomes a suspect. The Alley’s annual Summer Chills mystery production is usually one of their most popular shows, but this one will also make a bit of theatrical history as this production of the Christie classic, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff, marks the first time iconic sleuth Miss Marple has appeared on the U.S. stage.

    The 39 Steps at Main Street Theater (July 12-August 10)
    The classic Alfred Hitchcock spy thriller becomes exhilarating comic mayhem onstage when performed by just four actors. The original 39 Steps film is the story of an ordinary man accused of a murder he did not commit after he accidentally becomes involved with a mysterious and deadly woman. He must then go on the run over the English and Scottish countryside trying to allude both the police and an international spy ring attempting to steal British military secrets. In this hilarious parody adaptation by Patrick Barlow, the four actors leap in and out of over 150 characters, sometimes playing multiple roles in the span of seconds while also performing dynamic chase scenes, including an onstage plane crash. Look for some of our local favs to get quite the theatrical workout in this breakneck comedy.

    Parade presented by Broadway at the Hobby Center (July 15-20)
    For the penultimate show of Broadway at Hobby’s 24-25 season, they’re bringing in the 2023 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the dramatic and still very timely story chronicles what happens when murder, politics, and prejudice meet during a sensationalized murder trial. Based on a true story, Parade depicts newlywed Jewish couple, Leo and Lucille Frank, struggling to make a home and find community in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. Riveting and complex, Parade reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.

    Iolanthe from the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston (July 19-27)
    We always look forward this annual summer performance treat, as Houston’s own esteemed Gilbert and Sullivan Society presents another opera gem from the Gilbert and Sullivan treasure trove of musicals. Marrying fantasy and satire, Iolanthe is set in a magical version of England filled with both snobby aristocrats and equally smug faeries. The fairy and human world clash when Strephon, the half-fairy, half-human son of the title character falls in love with the lovely human Phyllis, a ward of the Lord Chancellor. Chaos ensues amid a lively and beautiful score as the fairies interfere in British politics, elevating Strephon to Parliament and upending tradition. The comic opera skews the British legal system, the House of Lords, and Victorian sensibilities all with clever lyrics. Keeping with the fairytale setting, the production design will showcase dreamy lighting, larger-than-life flora set pieces, and costumes inspired by whimsical bugs.

    The Last Five Years at Queensbury Theatre (July 23-27)
    When this bitter sweet musical made its debut in the early 2000s, it garnered lots of critics and audience acclaim with its fresh way to tell its love story, simultaneously from both the ending and beginning. Cathy, an aspiring actress, sings their story from the end of their marriage looking back, while Jamie, a rising novelist, begins with their first meeting full of sparks and attraction. The musical tellings of their love and loss cross just once, with a wedding song they sing together in the middle of the show. Then, fate pulls them apart. Queensbury plans on updating the already innovative show for our cell phone-obsessed digital age. The show will blend live performance with social media and technology to reflect how we connect, communicate, and fall apart today. Get ready for a fresh take on this iconic musical, where texts, tweets, and time collide.

    Honky Tonk Laundry at Stages (July 25-August 17)
    The history of this show at Stages has all of the highs and lows of a real honky tonk song. The feel-good musical created by Roger Bean, who also brought the world The Marvelous Wonderettes, was supposed to be one of the first shows through the wash cycle when Stages’ Gordy campus opened back in 2020, but the pandemic put it on hold after only a week of shows. Stages did release a streaming version of the show, but now it’s back in its full live and in-person glory. The title says it all as a woman tries to turn an inherited washeteria into a honky tonk club. Two unlikely friends spin suds, stories, and songs by Reba, Dolly, Carrie, and more. This musical load contains over 20 country hits, including “Before He Cheats,” “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” and “Wide Open Spaces.” At the center of all the sudsy songs is a story of friendship, grit, and finding your voice, one spin at a time.

    Houston Shakespeare Festival at Miller Outdoor Theatre (July 31-August 8)
    It wouldn’t be summer without free Shakespeare productions at Miller thanks in no small part to the University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance. This year brings a bard-tacular pairing with one of the great history plays, Henry V, and the effervescent comedy, As You Like It. Henry V lets us explore the qualities of leadership in all its challenges, complexities, and compromises as the young English king attempts to claim the French throne via battlefields and princess wooing. As You Like It marries some of Shakespeare’s best comic tropes including women disguised as men and urbanities losing their way, and sometimes sanity, in forests. Mix in some brotherly hate, mistaken identity, mixed up lovers, and a happy ending, and what’s not to like. The annual festival also offers some of the greatest roles for young regional actors getting their professional start and local favorites who have graced many a Houston stage.

    Life of Pi presented by Broadway at the Hobby Center (August 19-24)
    The Broadway at the Hobby Center 24-25 season ends not with a musical, but with this epic play. Based on the internationally award-winning novel and visually stunning film, this show won three Tony Awards and the Olivier Award for Best Play. After a shipwreck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions: a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger. On this makeshift, floating menagerie, boy and animals must survive together. Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world class puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, this beguiling show creates a breathtaking journey filled with wonder, awe and joy.

    While Childhood Slept from Garden Theatre (August 15-17)
    This emotional musical has some deep Houston history, as it had its world premiere here in 1999. It later received an off-Broadway reading, and its finale number, “We Will Not Forget,” was featured in the documentary Paperclips. In 2005, a revised version with new songs was performed once again in Houston. Based on a true story of the boys of Home Number One in the Nazi concentration camp, Terezin, the musical chronicles how the children create a secret republic within the camp, publishing their own magazine of art, poetry, and short stories. A visit from The Red Cross presents the opportunity to disguise their magazine as a secret message and a means of escape. The show will be produced in partnership with Holocaust Museum Houston.

    The Chosen Ones from Thunderclap Productions (August 28-September 6)
    While we have many new takes on classic stories on stages across the city this summer, if you’re looking for something new with some timely resonance, don’t miss this world premiere musical, by local and award winning playwright Aaron Alon. The show chronicles the stories of a group of LGBTQ+ teens sent to a conversion therapy summer camp, led by an “ex-gay” minister. With humor, sorrow, and hope the Chosen Ones explores themes of living authentically, found families, and defying conventions. Look for a large cast of fresh and up and coming local performers in this funny and moving musical, which is also a part of Thunderclap’s John Steven Kellett Memorial Series of works relating to LGBTQ+ equity.

    Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Parade
      

    Photo by Joan Marcus

    Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Parade.

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