July 9, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sarah Boehme, Director
409.886.ARTS (2787)
Leading Arms Historian Herbert G. Houze to Give Presentation
Special Reception and Book Signing to Follow
ORANGE, Texas, July 9, 2009 – Internationally recognized as one of the world’s leading arms historians, Herbert G. Houze will visit Orange, Texas, to discuss American accomplishments in the field of embellished firearms Friday, July 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lutcher Theater, 707 Main Avenue. The slide-presentation is free to the public and is hosted by the Stark Museum of Art in association with its current exhibition, Pistols: Dazzling Firearms, on view through October 24.
Houze is a sought-after lecturer on the topic of firearms and has authored more than 20 books and monographs on the subject. Over the last three decades, he has also curated three major collections, including the Winchester Arms Museum of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, and most recently the Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt Collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. During the presentation, Houze will describe the influence of European engravers on American firearms in the mid-nineteenth century, and he will also discuss the emergence of the American style of firearm embellishments.
Following the presentation will be a special reception with refreshments at the Stark Museum of Art, 712 Green Avenue. Houze will sign copies of any of his books, three of which are available for purchase in the Museum Store: Arming the West: Schuyler, Hartley & Graham’s Arms Shipments to the American Frontier; Colt Presentations from the Factory Ledgers: 1856-1869; and Samuel Colt: Arms, Art and Invention. During the reception, guests will also have the opportunity view the Stark Museum of Art’s current exhibition, Pistols: Dazzling Firearms, organized by the Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California. The exhibition features 50 American firearms and illustrates how art, historical events and popular culture have influenced the design and symbolism of American weaponry.
Located at 712 Green Avenue in Orange, Texas, the Stark Museum of Art is open to the public at no charge Tuesday through Saturday. Hours are from 10 AM – 5 PM. Group tours are available by appointment. For more information call 409.886.ARTS (2787) or visit
www.starkmuseum.org.
Herbert G. Houze
Colt, Open Top Pocket Model Revolver, s.n. 4974, ca. 1875. Engraved by Louis Nimschke.
Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California, 87.118.40
For additional images, contact Museum Services at the Stark Museum of Art. 409.886.2787.
About the Stark Museum of Art
The Stark Museum of Art focuses on the stunning land, the dramatic people and the diverse wildlife of the American West. Paintings, sculpture and prints interpret the West from nineteenth century frontier artists to twentieth century artistic colonies in New Mexico. Artists include John James Audubon, Frederic Remington, Charles Marion Russell, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
The Museum also features a significant collection of American Indian objects, including baskets, pottery, clothing and weavings. Other permanent collections in the Museum include the complete porcelain American Bird Series by Dorothy Doughty and the only complete series of The United States in Crystal,a collection of crystal urns produced by Steuben Glass to depict the 50 states of the Union.
The Stark Museum of Art is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a non profit organization whose other programs include the Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, and The W.H. Stark House.
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