Elisabet Ney: Art for Humanity’s Sake

This talk will explore the life of European woman portrait sculptor, Elisabet Ney (1833-1907) through her prolific work and personal effects. I will examine her career from her early years in Germany, where she first developed an interest in neoclassical sculpting, to her later life working in her Formosa studio in Austin, Texas, a property which she purchased in 1892. Here she resumed her career as a renowned sculptor of notable people, sculpting legendary Texans, among them Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston. She also assembled in her studio earlier portraits of celebrated Europeans, whom she had sculpted from life as a young artist in Europe, these include King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Otto von Bismarck, Arthur Schopenhauer and Jacob Grimm. Today, the Ney museum promotes her art, her history and her legacy through exhibitions and events for the whole family.

Lindsay Barras is Education Curator at the Elisabet Ney Museum, part of the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. With a BFA in printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MA in Museum Education from the University of Texas at Austin, she combines her interest in art and pedagogy in her work, which includes coordinating volunteers and docents, managing museum tours, developing educational programming, and planning special events. She has been with the Ney for fourteen years.