Reinzi– MFAH‘s house museum featuring 18th-century European decorative art, and former dwelling of the late Houstonian philanthropists, Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III – is opening its doors for the community to take a personal look at the family behind the house. From March 3- June 30, Reinz will display The Wedding Dress: an exhibition of the nuptial memories that the Masterson family has made over the past fifty years.
In October of 1957 Isla Carroll Cowen, wearing her peau d’ange silk gown, was married to T.R. Reckling at the Reinzi. Since then, three generations of Masterson’s ladies have been married in that same dress, and held their receptions at the family’s mansion. The Wedding Dress shares the celebrations that the heirloom has been apart of. Along with the dress and veil, photographs of past weddings at the Reinz will be featured.
Since 1999, when the Reinzi was donated to MFAH, the house has served the public by providing quality exhibitions, informative lectures, concerts, and classes for developing artists. Over the course of 40 years, the Mastersons purchased hundreds of pieces of rare European art, spanning from the 17th to the mid-19th century. The house is also situated on four acres of land, decorated with floral gardens that visitors of the Reinzi can enjoy by traversing one of the earthen pathways that sprawl across the grounds.
Exhibitions at Reinzi are held biennially. They aim to inform spectators about European decorative art and the history of the Reinzi. The Wedding Dress is an opportunity for art enthusiast to become acquainted with a family who has played an important part in promoting fine-arts in Houston.
