Elisabet Ney at the time of her immigration to the U.S.
Modern Times Lecture Series
The Rise of Austin’s Visual Art Culture through the Life and Work of Elisabet Ney
Jade Walker
Sunday, April 28 | 2:30-4:00 PM CST
**Doors at 2:00; Lecture at 2:30
In Person and Online!
Tickets
$10 General Admission | $5 Student | $0 NCHM Member
Deeply intellectual, a gender non-conformist, and celebrated German artist, Elisabet Ney emigrated as a political refugee in 1871, eventually landing as a foreigner in East Texas. Formosa, her rugged, limestone Austin home and studio, (today’s Elisabet Ney Museum) was built in 1892 to accommodate her revived art practice.
From Formosa, Ney created iconic Texas figurative sculptures while forging the young state’s intellectual underpinnings. Her salons, modeled after those she enjoyed in Berlin but held outdoors, became highly influential, a nexus for intellectual and political engagement in formative Austin. In 1911, her friends coalesced on the site to form the Texas Fine Arts Association and the Elisabet Ney Museum, saving her home and keeping her independent and artistic spirit alive.
To attend online, register and receive the Zoom meeting link by email ahead of the lecture.
About the Speaker
Jade Walker is a sculptor and an active member of the arts community living in Austin, Texas. She received her BFA from the University of Florida and her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. Walker held the position of Executive Director at the Visual Arts Center in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas for over a decade. She also served as Director of Austin Art Alliance Austin and held the position of studio manager for artist Deborah Roberts.
In the past, she participated in the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places as a panel member as well as steering committee member for The Art Galleries at Black Studies at The University of Texas. She currently serves on the board of Austin Art Alliance and Fusebox. Since 2022, she has led the Elisabet Ney Museum as Director and Curator, managing the museum and historic grounds as well as moving the museum through a new interpretive plan with MuseWork, large capital improvement project with the City of Austin, and a rehabilitation plan for the landscape with Catherine O’Connor and Ten Eyck Landscape Architects.