The Stark Museum of Art
One of the best museums displaying American Western art and artifacts is the wonderful Stark Museum of Art. H.J. Lutcher Stark and his mother, Miriam Lutcher Stark established the Stark Foundation as a non-profit corporation in 1961. Beginning as a vision of improving the quality of life in Southeast Texas by encouraging, promoting and assisting education, the arts, and health and human services. The Stark Museum of Art holds a wide array of collections of art.
The Western Art collection includes many artists dating over two centuries. Beautiful art in many forms portray cowboy life and Indian imagery depicted from the artist’s individual interpretation as they settled in the west.
The Indian tribes of the Great Plains, Southwest, Eastern Woodlands and Northwest Coast are represented in wonderful collections. Examples of Plains clothing, body ornaments, and beadwork, such as elaborately beaded moccasins are displayed in the Stark Museum of Art.
Collectors from all over the world have visited the Stark Museum of Art to see the museum’s collection of rare books and manuscripts.
Offering an outstanding collection of glass and porcelain in its Decorative Arts Collection, the Stark Museum of Art is renowned as having numerous items from Steuben Glass. Another wonderful exhibit that can only be seen at the Stark Museum of Art is the complete set of The United States in Crystal, a series of bowls engraved with scenes representing each of the 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and the Union. Other exhibits include beautiful porcelain birds by artist Dorothy Doughty as well as those by artist Edward Marshall Boehm..
Located in the city of Orange, Texas in the southeast corner of Texas this wonderful museum is one I hope to visit someday. For now, I will continue reading and learning from their website at http://www.starkmuseum.org/.
