The Austin Museum of Art (AMOA)-Downtown serves as the Museum’s principal exhibition site and presents continually changing exhibitions and education programs that showcase an array of 20th-century and contemporary art, including painting, sculpture, photography, prints, and video. These exhibitions offer something for everyone, from the experienced art collector to the newly curious, from the admirer of established masters to the advocate of emerging local artists. To complement the exhibitions, the Museum also presents a broad range of accessible, interdisciplinary, hands-on public education programs for schoolchildren, families, and adults, including gallery tours, performances, and lectures. In addition, the AMOA Museum Store offers a wide range of art-inspired gifts.

As the Museum’s original home, AMOA-Laguna Gloria offers a unique experience of history, art, and nature. This beloved site has been declared a national treasure and is on city, state, and national registries of historic places. Visitors to AMOA-Laguna Gloria can tour the recently restored 1916 Italianate-style villa that was the home of Texas legend Clara Driscoll. Inside they can view intimate art exhibitions and attend informative educational programs focusing on art and nature. Outside they can stroll the 12-acre grounds overlooking Lake Austin and enjoy sculpture and the recently restored historic gardens. AMOA-Laguna Gloria is also home to The Art School, a thriving program with more than 400 classes for adults and children taught annually.

History
AMOA takes pride in the important role it has played in the cultural life of Central Texas. The Museum traces its roots to 1943, when Clara Driscoll—best known as the savior of the Alamo—deeded her 1916 Lake Austin estate to the Texas Fine Arts Association (TFAA) for use “as a Museum to bring pleasure in the appreciation of art to the people of Texas.” Ownership of the Driscoll estate and its 12 acres of grounds was transferred to the TFAA’s Austin chapter, the Laguna Gloria Art Museum, in 1961.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Laguna Gloria began to mount changing exhibitions of work by contemporary American artists. With the development of a vital Art School and a lively program of innovative performances, films, and videos, Laguna Gloria became a cultural resource for the people of Austin during this period.

In the 1980s it became apparent that more substantial facilities were required if the Museum was to effectively serve Austin’s growing population. The Museum’s Board of Trustees recognized that the Laguna Gloria site offered limited expansion possibilities and that the city needed a facility that offered better accessibility, visibility, and potential for integration into the Austin community.

In 1992 representatives of the Laguna Gloria Art Museum and two local cultural organizations worked together to accomplish two goals: to work mutually toward meeting the city’s arts needs, and to establish an institution that would truly represent Austin’s diverse communities. This association culminated in the formation of the Austin Museum of Art. In 1996 the organization opened its second facility, the Austin Museum of Art-Downtown. This space includes 5,000 square feet of handsomely designed galleries, as well as classrooms and the Museum Store.

Today, more than 40 years after its inception as one museum with two distinct locations, AMOA continues to educate, entertain, inspire, and challenge the diverse population of the Central Texas community.

The museum’s downtown location is open Tuesday–Saturday 10–6, Thursday 10–8, and Sunday 12–5, at 823 Congress Ave. The Laguna Gloria Driscoll Villa is open 11 –4 daily; the Laguna Gloria grounds are open Monday–Saturday 9–5, and Sunday 11–5; tours Saturday and Sunday at 1; at 3809 W. 35th St. Admission is $1 to $5. For further information, please call 512-495-9224 or visit www.amoa.org.

Thanks to Austin Museum of Art for the article.