A Day at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston

Over the summer while I was interning in Texas, one of my goals was to see as much of Houston as I possibly could–to really explore it up! Although it was my sixth time working NASA Johnson Space Center, in all those years, I hadn’t really done much exploring beyond the Clear Lake bubble. So this past summer I committed to changing that. This is the first of many posts documenting my adventures throughout the city. (They will be interspersed with my current adventuring in Colorado, just as quickly and completely as I can put them together!) I hope that through these posts you’ll get a glimpse into some of the best local spots in Houston–including museums, restaurants, and other gems that are must-see’s.

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The first few weekends of my time in Houston were surprisingly stormy. While I vividly remembered the hot, humid temperatures of the area, I had forgotten just how wet and rainy it could be. So on one particularly rainy weekend, I decided to head into the Museum District to explore the Museum of Fine Arts.

Of all the museums I visted in the Houston area, the MFAH has been one of my favorites–and a great value money-wise to boot! As a budget-friendly student, I can really appreciate the $7.50 price tag of a general admission ticket ($15 regular adult).

The museum opens with an ode to the ancients, which brought me right back to my studies of art history in Italy a few summers back. The aging stone sculptures and other bronze antiquities were beautiful. The grand wall displaying donors was also very impressive and added to the alluring grandness of the time period–where a life cast in marble stands the test of time.

Next, I fast-forwarded into the modern contemporary, where abstract shapes and bright colors consistently drew me to thinking outside the box (sometimes quite literally). There were even original pieces done by Pablo Picaso (second photo down, on the left).

One of my favorite exhibits of the whole day was the two part Kusama: At the End of the Universe. The first part is made up of a room of inflatable colored abstract shapes, while the second part (my favorite!) reminded me of traveling through space and time. The floating candles and mirrored walls were memorizing to say the least, and transported me into a different world.

There was also an immense collection of renaissance and baroque art from around the world, my favorites being from Europe. There’s something so silently beautiful and powerful about those pieces for me, more so than for any other time period or place I’ve experienced.

After perusing the renaissance period, I went to the visiting exhibit High Society: The Portraits of Franz X. Winterhalter. This exhibit was probably my favorite of the entire day and cataloged much of French Fashion and the society that accompanied it in the 19th Century (following Marie Antoinette’s influence). Winterhalter had a unique gift of painting his subjects as they wanted to seem themselves but without altering their recognizability. He was also known for his exquisite ability to capture the realness of velvet, silk, and lace on his subject’s intricate dresses. It was phenomenal. There were both paintings and original dresses of the time for comparison. (This is exhibit is no longer there, but I’d love to go see Degas: A New Vision (on view through mid-January) that focuses on soft and delicate paintings of classical ballet scenes. See current exhibits here.)

I also found a small exhibit featuring pieces by Fredric Remington, which holds special significance to me. I remember visiting his works at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa when I was just a small girl on a school field trip. I remember being so compelled by his work and the emotion he was able to capture in his sculptures. To this day, I still recall his depiction of a horse being spooked by a rattlesnake in the trail. One of my favorites!

After spending an entire day at the MFAH (and still not seeing everything!), I ventured into the surrounding area of the Museum District to find a new-to-me restaurant for dinner. The neighborhoods surrounding the museum are gorgeous and overflowing with beautiful flowers wherever you look.

For dinner, I chose Barnaby’s Cafe. It’s a super cute dog-themed restaurant known for their overflowing salads and juicy burgers. Because I am currently going plant-based (more on that here), I tried the black bean burger with a heaping helping of sweet potato pies. It was the perfect post-museum food binge I had been craving.

Baranaby’s atmosphere is one-of-a-kind, with games all around the cafe to play at your table. I especially loved these giant dice and Jenga blocks.

And no first trip to a restaurant is complete without having dessert, right?! I couldn’t resist the temptation of this ‘Chocolate Addiction’ cake. The frosting tasted like the homemade fudge my grandma makes at Christmas time, so you can imagine that I was in heaven while eating this.

Even the photos in the bathroom were darling. I loved the playful theme of dogs throughout the cafe.

Walking back to my car through the dreamy neighborhood was the perfect ending to a perfect day at the Museum of Fine Arts. I’d highly recommend this museum to anyone visiting the area. And with new exhibits coming in every few months, it’s definitely a place I wanted to visit again before leaving.

Pro Tips:

Parking: Park in the neighborhoods surrounding the MFAH to save money on parking–it’s only a few blocks of walking for those who are able. If you need to park closer to the MFAH, use the parking garage across the street ($6 with proof of ticket). More information here.

Guided Tours: I would recommend going on the free, guided tours. I went on a short, themed 20 minute tour, but wished I would’ve gone on the longer “Highlights” tour that covered much more ground. There aren’t audio tours available (except at particular visiting exhibits), so these guided tours are your best bet for learning more about each piece of artwork. Check the daily schedule to see which ones you may be interested in joining. More information here.

Audio Tours: The only audio tour offered at the museum (when I went) was available at the entrance of the visiting exhibit High Society. It was $5 and I was glad that I got it. I think there may be guided walking tours through the visiting exhibit too. Check the daily schedule for other available tours.

What about you? Do you have a favorite Fine Arts Museum?

You might also like…A Day at the Denver Zoo and Visiting Pike’s Peak.

This post associated with this Little Things post (for context).