In 1997, the decorative arts department began focusing its efforts on objects made after 1900. This move included a new emphasis on craft and design, and the MFAH is now considered one of the leading American collecting institutions in these fields. The works of modern and contemporary decorative arts are international in scope and include furniture, tableware, jewelry, and objects made from wood, ceramics, glass, metal, textiles/fiber, plastics, and other materials. Of particular note are the studio-craft holdings exemplified by the Helen Williams Drutt Collection of jewelry and the Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection of ceramics.

Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio assembled one of the most important collections of Modern and contemporary ceramics in the world. Functional vessels, abstract and sculptural forms, and narrative works broaden traditional ideas about ceramics as an art form. Works by European and American artists form the core of the holdings, with Asian, African, and Latin American artists also represented. Nearly 500 objects explore a range of aesthetics by a roster that includes artists Sir Anthony Caro, Laszlo Fekete, Lucio Fontana, Anne Kraus, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and Beatrice Wood.

This renowned collection of Modern and contemporary jewelry is recognized throughout the world for its depth and quality. Helen Williams Drutt assembled objects by a truly international group of 175 artists from 18 countries. The heart of the collection consists of American, Dutch, and German objects, augmented by significant holdings of Australian, Austrian, British, Czech, Japanese, and Scandinavian works. Gijs Bakker, Peter Chang, Georg Dobler, Stanley Lechtzin, Wendy Ramshaw, and Olaf Skoogfors are just a few of the artists represented.

Lee and Mel Eagle’s adventurous collection celebrates the technical innovations and shifting tastes of the last half-century in ceramics, fiber art, furniture, and jewelry, while also challenging the boundaries between the studio craft movement and the larger realm of contemporary art. About 170 works by artists primarily from the United States and Western Europe comprise the collection, though Asian and Latin American artists are also represented. The heart of the collection addresses the dynamic period spanning the 1960s–1990s with particular strength in objects made on America’s West Coast by artists such as Robert Arneson, Ralph Bacerra, Robert Brady, David Gilhooly, Sam Maloof, Adrian Saxe, and Stephen de Staebler.

• Beyond Craft: Decorative Arts from the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. Eagle Collection
• Crafting a Collection: Contemporary Craft in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
• Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting
• Olga de Amaral: To Weave a Rock
• Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection
• Radical: Italian Design 1965–1985, The Dennis Freedman Collection
• Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics: The Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection
• Silver: An American Art, The Milo M. Naeve Collection of American Silver at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Design Council
If you have an interest in 20th- and 21st-century design, architecture, and craft, join the Design Council. This group supports the Museum’s growing collection of decorative arts and design. Members meet bimonthly, September through May, for lectures, visits to private collections, and behind-the-scenes exhibition tours. The season culminates with members voting on works of art to acquire for the Museum.
Join Design Council

HADA Annual Lecture
The Houston Antiques Dealers Association (HADA) Annual Lecture, established in 1982, is the oldest endowed lecture at the Museum. Distinguished scholars—including speakers from institutions such as the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and Victoria and Albert Museum—share their knowledge and expertise about the decorative arts.