The Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria, formerly known as the AMOA-Arthouse at Laguna Gloria, is the former home of Clara Driscoll and site of a 1916

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

-style villa on the shores of

Lake Austin Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven Hi ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. It was the original home of the Austin Museum of Art and still houses some of its collections. The building is now one of two sites of The Contemporary Austin. The building is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

History

Before the influx of white settlers, Native Americans visited the site for its nearby spring (today underwater). The land that includes the property was originally owned by

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

, who in 1832 (seven years before Austin was founded) wrote that he wished to build a home there. This never came to pass. In 1914 the property was purchased by Hal Sevier, editor of the '' Austin American'', with his new wife Clara Driscoll. They completed their villa two years later, inspired by a honeymoon visit to Lake Como in Italy. Clara, an avid gardener, spent many years planting native and foreign plants around the site and designing the terraced gardens that remain to this day. In 1943 Driscoll donated the homesite to be used as a city museum. In 1961, the site was converted to the Laguna Gloria Art Museum and became an important part of the Austin arts scene. Soon after, the museum began offering art classes, and in 1983, a facility was built specifically for the growing art school. In 1992, the institution changed its name to the Austin Museum of Art, and four years later, moved its primary exhibition space to 823 Congress Avenue, in the heart of downtown Austin. Laguna Gloria remained the site of The Art School, and in 2003, the Driscoll Villa was renovated and again became an exhibition space, focusing on local and regional artists. The site is immediately adjacent to Mayfield Park, also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Texas Historical Commission marker text

"This Mediterranean style villa was built in 1916 for Henry H. and Clara Driscoll Sevier. Named Laguna Gloria for a nearby lagoon off the Colorado River, the stuccoed home features a decorative window at San Jose Mission in San Antonio. In 1943 the site was conveyed to the Texas Fine Arts Assoc. by Clara Driscoll, best known for her efforts to preserve the Alamo. Her homesite is now owned by Laguna Gloria Art Museum." Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983Texas Historical Commission
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References

Historic American Buildings Survey Folio

External links

The Contemporary Austin
{{authority control City of Austin Historic Landmarks Museums in Austin, Texas Historic house museums in Texas Art museums and galleries in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Houses in Austin, Texas Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas