Tours & Programs
The Artist and the Book | Vincent Valdez in Conversation with Morris Berman
Vincent Valdez, offset lithographic plate from Slaughterhouse-Five, edition 69/210, 2023, Arion Press, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Hirsch Library Collection.
Vincent Valdez
Morris Berman
May 16, 2024
Artists have long used books as tools for education and inspiration. Increasingly, contemporary artists make books and research central to their artistic practice, examining the past and often creating new narratives.
In this conversation, artist Vincent Valdez and cultural historian Morris Berman discuss how books, research, and libraries are central protagonists in the art world today. They explore what books and research mean for contemporary practitioners.
Meet the Books | “Bea Nettles: Myth Maker, Storyteller”
Bea Nettles, Observer Series, various objects, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund, Photography Book Collection.
Bea Nettles, Mountain Dream Tarot: 78 Photographic Cards, offset printed tarot deck, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Manfred Heiting Book Collection, museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund.
Bea Nettles, Paris Rome & London, unique artist’s book, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund, Photography Book Collection.
May 2 & June 6, 2024
Learn more about the exhibition Bea Nettles: Myth Maker, Storyteller, on view in the Hirsch Library through June 15. Jon Evans, chief of libraries and archives and exhibition coordinator at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, discusses Nettles’s extensive career as a photobook maker in which she focused on issues central to women, the merging image and text, and topics as diverse as autobiography, mythmaking, and the natural world.
Intimacy and Mortality in the Photobook: A Conversation with Elinor Carucci
February 22, 2024
Photographer Elinor Carucci visited the Hirsch Library for a talk with Jon Evans, chief of libraries and archives, about her longtime engagement with the photobook as a form.
In her work, Carucci explores issues related to intimacy and mortality, largely by examining her own life and that of her immediate family. She has published four monographs: Closer, Diary of a Dancer, Midlife, and Mother. Her latest book is The Collars of RBG: A Portrait of Justice, about Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Presented in partnership with Houston Center of Photography
“Gego: Weaving the Space in Between” Book Launch with Mónica Amor and Mari Carmen Ramírez
November 16, 2023
This discussion celebrated the book release of Gego: Weaving the Space in Between by Mónica Amor. Curator Mari Carmen Ramírez joined the conversation exploring the work of Gego, a key figure in the development of 20th-century Latin American art.
Awards Ceremony | Emerging Scholars in Object-Based Learning
(clockwise from top left) Dasol Kim, Kian Ramirez, Lillian Michel, Madison Scott
October 12, 2023
The Museum’s Hirsch Library and the University of Houston’s School of Art presented the third annual “Emerging Scholars in Object-Based Learning” awards. The ceremony recognizes two undergraduate and two graduate scholars who have demonstrated excellence in the methods of object-based scholarship.
The Artist and the Book | Dario Robleto in Conversation with Mimi Swartz
May 18, 2023
Artists have long used books as tools for education and inspiration. Increasingly, contemporary artists involve books and research in their artistic practice, examining the past and creating new narratives.
Artist Dario Robleto sat down with writer Mimi Swartz to discuss how books, research, and libraries are protagonists in the art world today. Missed out on the talk? Watch the discussion to learn more about what books and research mean for contemporary practitioners.
Gallery Talks
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, also known as the Second Folio, 1632, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Masterson Book Collection, Rienzi.
Pierre Pomet, A Compleat History of Druggs, 1712.
Pierre Pomet, A Compleat History of Druggs, 1712.
Hirsch Library staff members highlight significant books in the Museum’s collections.
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (1632)
One of the most acclaimed books in the English language, this rare volume—also known as the “Second Folio”—preserved William Shakespeare’s artistry and elevated his legacy to canonical status. In celebration of Shakespeare's birthday, Jon Evans, chief of libraries and archives, gives a talk at Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts.
A Compleat History of Druggs by Pierre Pomet (1712)
This intriguingly titled 18th-century medical reference was a breakthrough. Filled with engravings of animals, spices, minerals, plants, and exotic locations that author Pierre Pomet collected during his extensive travels, it also became a popular book widely read for pleasure. Find out more from Rebekah Scoggins, public service and instruction librarian.
Meet the Books: Hirsch Library Exhibition Tours
Hirsch Library
Edgardo Antonio Vigo, Hexagono ’71, La Plata, Argentina, 1971–75, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Hirsch Library.
Wiener Secession, XIV. Ausstellung der Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs Secession Wien: Klinger Beethoven : April-Juni 1902, Wien, 1902, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Hirsch Library, Museum purchase funded by the Design Council.
With thousands of books on art to choose from, the Hirsch Library also offers engaging exhibitions featuring materials from the Rare Books Collection! These exhibitions, often organized by library staff, highlight recent acquisitions, exquisitely illustrated books, and rare printed matter.
Past Hirsch Library Events
“Art+Feminism” Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon
Suzanne McClelland, printed by (Master) Douglas Volle, Scott Smith and Lorena Salcedo-Watson, published by Universal Limited Art Editions, 3:00, 1996, lithograph and screenprint in colors on paper, edition 20/35, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Clive Fields. © Suzanne McClelland.
“Art+Feminism” Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon
The Art+Feminism campaign started in response to a 2011 survey that revealed fewer than 10% of contributors on Wikipedia were women. The initiative seeks to change that statistic by ensuring that women are voices in the preservation of history.
Adding a Beat: Hirsch Library Project
This individual site-specific performance, conceived by Core Program critic Hanna Yoo, invited eight Houston-based artists to intervene in the Hirsch Library in conjunction with the 2014 Core Exhibition.
ArTrivia Night
April 4, 2020
Hirsch Library hosts the first-ever ArTrivia night. No need to be an art historian, although a general knowledge of art history may give you a leg up. Many questions relate to current exhibitions, so arrive early to see what’s on view. Work in teams, or brave the quiz solo.
Awards for Emerging Scholars in Object-Based Learning
Students at the Museum’s Hirsch Library.
MFAH curator Mari Carmen Ramírez teaches a class at the University of Houston.
May 4, 2021
The MFAH and the University of Houston present the inaugural Awards for Emerging Scholars in Object-Based Learning. The awards recognize research demonstrating excellence in the methods of object-based scholarship. The winners presented their papers and received their awards during this livestreamed ceremony.
Hiram Butler and Andrew Spindler-Roesle have generously provided funds to underwrite the awards.
Raw Materials in Peace and War
Keliy Anderson-Staley, from the series Raw Materials in Peace and War. © Keliy Anderson-Staley
Keliy Anderson-Staley, from the series Raw Materials in Peace and War. © Keliy Anderson-Staley
June 18, 2022
Houston photographer Keliy Anderson-Staley discusses her series Raw Materials in Peace and War, featuring handmade artists’ books that address complex personal narratives, the fluidity of memory, and alternative photographic processes. The conversation focuses on her work in the context of photography books and photographs from the Hirsch Library and photographic collections.
The MFAH Hirsch Library is generously endowed through the Estates of Winifred and Maurice Hirsch.