82R12738 RYA-D
By: Marquez H.R. No. 921
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The El Paso Museum of Art is celebrating its 50th
anniversary with an outstanding yearlong series of exhibitions; and
WHEREAS, Since its opening on December 11, 1960, the museum
has amassed a permanent collection of more than 6,000 works of
American, Mexican, and European art and has hosted world-class
touring exhibits; accredited by the American Association of
Museums, the El Paso Museum of Art constitutes an exceptional
cultural and educational asset for its city, as well as for the
greater West Texas--Mexico border region; and
WHEREAS, The museum traces its roots to 1958, when the Samuel
Kress Foundation offered the city of El Paso 57 paintings and 2
sculptures from its collection of Western European masterworks;
receipt of this gift came with strict requirements for housing the
art, necessitating expansion of the historic W. W. Turney mansion,
which then housed the El Paso International Museum; with the deed to
the international museum transferred to the city, El Paso passed a
$750,000 bond issue to build two new wings to house the Kress
collection, which became the foundation of the museum's holdings;
and
WHEREAS, By the 1980s the El Paso Museum of Art had outgrown
its original location, and it began to search for new quarters; to
meet its needs, the city purchased the 104,000-square-foot
Greyhound Bus terminal in downtown El Paso in 1989; the terminal
underwent an $8 million renovation beginning in 1996, and on August
27, 1998, the museum opened at its current address; today the
facility includes nine galleries, an auditorium, an art library,
classrooms, offices, meeting rooms, and a gift shop; and
WHEREAS, The museum is run by the City of El Paso, and the
majority of its operating budget comes from taxpayers; in 1998 the
El Paso Museum of Art Foundation was formed to create an endowment
to cover the remaining operating costs and to provide funding for
new acquisitions and for preservation; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Michael A. Tomor, an El Paso native, now serves
as director of the museum; to commemorate its 50th anniversary, he
and his staff are staging a number of events over the course of
2011, including major exhibitions featuring the work of the French
Impressionists and the illustrator Norman Rockwell, as well as
shows devoted to local artists; and
WHEREAS, A vital cultural resource, for five decades the El
Paso Museum of Art has enriched the community with its exhibitions
and educational outreach programs, and its significant
achievements are indeed worthy of recognition; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the El Paso
Museum of Art and extend to all those associated with the museum
sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the El Paso Museum of Art as an expression of high
regard by the Texas House of Representatives.