The Elisabet Ney Museum is the historic home and studio of Elisabet Ney, a wildly iconoclastic German sculptor who moved to Austin in 1882. The museum enthusiastically celebrates her art, her history and her legacy through exhibitions and events for the whole family.
The museum enjoys numerous historic designations and is a cornerstone of the Hyde Park National Register Historic Neighborhood. Admission is free.
About Us | Programs/Events/Services | Exhibits | Get Involved
Re-imagine the Ney with us this Fall!
Re-Imagining the Ney is a month-long series of events dedicated to giving the public an opportunity to help shape the future of the Elisabet Ney Museum. Thanks to bond funding, grants and private donations, we’re taking a once in a century opportunity to survey the life and work of the extraordinary Elisabet Ney.
Through this program, visitors can learn about specific aspects of Ney's life while contributing ideas for upcoming programs and exhibitions at the Museum. Each one of the Re-Imagining the Ney events will focus on different biographical topics on Ney’s life, and the series will culminate with the day-long event, Re-Imagining the Ney: A Community Art Bash on October 21 from 3 pm to 8 pm.
Learn More about Upcoming Events
On Exhibit
The Elisabet Ney Museum houses the World’s largest collection of this remarkable woman’s work, spanning the 1850s through her death at the site in 1907, along with furnishings and ephemera. The Museum also exhibits contemporary artists in the building as well as on the grounds, much of which features a Historic Prairie Landscape Restoration that mimics what Miss Ney found when she purchased the property in 1882. For tours of the building and these collections, see below.
For more information visit our exhibits page.
Highlighted Events and Tours
The Elisabet Ney Museum engages over 25,000 visitors per year in tours, events, festivals, openings and lectures, the most popular being POLKAPOCALYPSE! Tours are suggested during open hours and upon request. For more information, visit our Programs, Events, and Services page.
Education
An early leader of the Texas Women’s Movement and a vigorous Civil Rights, education and arts advocate, Miss Ney was one of a kind. School groups get curriculum-aligned tours of the site ranging from Pre-K to High School, featuring art, history, science, and multi-disciplinary STEAM programming. For more information, visit our Education page.
Capital Improvement Project
The Elisabet Ney Museum will be undergoing some significant site upgrades in 2024-2025. For more information, please visit our Capital Improvement Project page.
Elisabet Ney Biography
Formosa Studio
In 1892, European portrait sculptress Elisabet Ney (1833-1907) purchased property in Austin, established a studio named Formosa and resumed her career as a noted sculptor of notables.
At Formosa, Ney sculpted legendary Texans, among them Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston. Ney also assembled at her American studio portraits of European notables, including King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Otto von Bismarck, Arthur Schopenhauer and Jacob Grimm rendered from life as a young artist in Europe.
From Studio to Museum
At the turn of the 19th century, Elisabet Ney’s studio became a gathering place for influential Texans drawn to “Miss Ney” and to the stimulating discussions of politics, art and philosophy that took place there. Following Ney’s death in 1907, her friends preserved the studio and its contents as the Elisabet Ney Museum and established the Texas Fine Arts Association dedicated to her memory.
About the Museum
The Elisabet Ney Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places based on its significance as the former American studio of Elisabet Ney. The museum is also a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation'sHistoric Artists’ Homes and Studios program. Unless otherwise indicated, the portraits and personal memorabilia in the Elisabet Ney Museum form the Elisabet Ney Collection of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center of the University of Texas at Austin.