At the Texas Capitol, pause for the sculptor’s name as well as the names of the men in marble. Elisabet Ney’s figures of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston connect public Texas history with a woman who built a career across two continents.
Born in 1833 in what is now Germany, Ney entered the Royal Bavarian Academy’s sculpture school in Munich, graduated in 1854 and continued in Berlin under Christian Daniel Rauch.
In Austin, she established Formosa in 1892: a studio and gathering place for conversation about art, politics and philosophy. Her Austin and Houston statues were unveiled at the Texas Capitol in 1903.
The Ney Museum was listed as closed for renovations, with reopening anticipated in spring 2027. Check current visitor information before a trip.
Plan your visit: Elisabet Ney Museum.
From the October–December 2026 issue of Hill Country Visitor Magazine.
Image credit: Friedrich Kaulbach · Public domain.