NEY-borhood Effort: Carrying forward grant momentum in honor of Oliver Franklin
City and Community to invest $3.614M in Museum Improvements
By the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum
Established in 1891, the Hyde Park’s neighborhood was then a rural area on Austin’s fringes. As Hyde Park was being laid out, a political refugee and successful sculptor picked the area for her home and studio (“Formosa”) and in doing so, became an indelible part of our character and story. Elisabet Ney (1833-1907) was a groundbreaking German radical Progressive, suffragist, abolitionist, gender non-conformist, and in-demand sculptress. From her Hyde Park studio, she created some of Texas’s most iconic statuary—from models which she personally accompanied across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe on several ship voyages. Some these works today reside in the capitol buildings in Washington, D.C. and Austin while others are in museums around the world. Her leadership in arts advocacy and the state’s suffragist movement inspired generations.
Her vision and spirit endured after her death in 1907, and just over a century later, were taken up and revived by the head of the Elisabet Ney Museum, a man named Oliver Franklin who transformed the site’s purpose from dusty historic home storing old busts into a vibrant platform for ideas, and a place showcasing the contemporary work of predominantly female artists. Over the past decade, he helped increase programming, visitors, donations, and many site improvements.
But sadly, Oliver’s life and work were cut short as he succumbed to cancer in April 2022. In keeping with his tenacity and optimism, he lived with it and fought for nearly four years—surpassing the few months he was given at diagnosis. The City of Austin (which has operated the site since 1941) and the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum (“the Friends”) intend to carry forward the momentum of Ney’s legacy and Oliver’s work with some pivotal pieces which will not only ensure that programming and improvements continue but that the Hyde Park cultural heritage is preserved, enriched, and examined.
The Elisabet Ney Museum has been in existence since 1911. However, until now there has not been a comprehensive investment in the historic building and its programming. We now have a once-in-a-century opportunity. Starting this January 2023 and anticipated to continue to Summer 2024, the City of Austin will invest $3.415 million in capital improvements to the Ney. This will be funded through voter-approved bonds, Parkland Dedication Funds (provided by developer fees), the Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund, and a $150K grant to the Friends from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Improvements will include long-needed renovation of all doors and windows, a new HVAC system, improved/new interior lighting, updated security system, an accessible pedestrian bridge over Waller Creek, and landscape improvements.
However, the City’s significant improvements to the historic building and grounds will not be sufficient unless Elisabet’s story is not told in a more compelling way. The all-volunteer Friends group will raise over $200,000 to develop and implement a new interpretive plan. Together with the planned reinstallation of the permanent collection, the plan will enable the Museum and Hyde Park to transform the site as a community gathering place and platform for engagement while creating a dynamic experience for visitors. The goal is to re-envision the experience of visiting so as people walk past prairie land, stone, and artifacts, they also learn something about individuality, tenacity of spirit, and the origins of Austin’s “weird”.
In May the Friends received confirmation of two significant grant awards for the interpretive plan project: $40,000 from the Terra Foundation for American Art (Chicago) and a $25,000 Challenge Grant from the Still Water Foundation (Austin). It also has a pending request of $25,000 to the Summerlee Foundation for Texas History (Dallas). Additional grant applications are in the works.
This is a good start toward our goal, but the project will not receive the Still Water $25,000 unless the Friends raise a matching amount. To this end the Friends are asking Hyde Park neighbors and other community members who care about Austin history and historic preservation to meet the $25,000 challenge.
This November, the Elisabet Ney and the neighborhood of Hyde Park will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the site being added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1972—and at that time, it is anticipated we will convene stakeholders from all parts of the community to get their input and to provide shape and content to the direction of telling Elisabet Ney’s story.
Many who pass by the Museum every day don’t realize the cultural significance of this preserved space and what it means to Austin. When, just a few years after Ney’s death, civic leaders formed the Texas Fine Arts Association and the Elisabet Ney Museum, they protected what was essentially hallowed ground for Austin’s artistic and idiosyncratic character. The TFAA went on to inspire generations of Texas artists and was the precursor to Austin’s Laguna Gloria Art Museum (1961, later Austin Museum of Art), Arthouse (2002), and The Contemporary Austin (2011). This is the reason why students, artists, and visitors from all over the world come to Hyde Park to be inspired by one of our founding resident’s lives and body of work.
Elisabet was not just another neighbor. She was an “outsider insider” working on the fringes, carving her own path, and reminding all who took a moment to notice that our differences are what make us all better. With your help, we can ensure this is true for many more people … for at least another century.
The Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum is a group that supports the Elisabet Ney Museum in its mission to educate and inspire visitors through the remarkable story and art of Elisabet Ney. Information, inquiries, and donations: www.theney.org
