About the International Museum of Art
The MuseumIn 1925, Kate Moore Brown, the president of the Women’s Department of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, obtained a collection of items (artifacts, pottery, paintings, etc.) as a donation to the city of El Paso. These items were only to be kept if they were displayed to the public. The Women’s Department collection began to increase and was even granted an official charter as a museum in 1930, but there was no place to display the collection.
Everything changed when Iva Turney deeded her home to the city of El Paso in 1940 during a local tax auction. The house quickly became the El Paso International Museum. The museum included artwork and a center for women’s contributions to wars. The International Museum shared its space with Bundles for Britain, an organization which made clothing for soldiers and raised money for war effort. The group occupied the first floor of the Turney home from 1941-1945, while the International Museum was positioned on the second floor. The International Museum opened to the public in 1947, but the museum did not contain a certain theme. That was until Mayor Raymond Telles, Museum President Dan Ponder, and Contractor R.E. McKee were informed that Samuel Kress was contemplating El Paso as a recipient of his Kress Collection of fine art including sculptures and paintings. To gain more money, the International Museum went from being a private organization, to becoming a public organization since the Kress Collection was going to bring a lot more visitors to the museum. Two new wings were added to the museum in 1960 to make room for the Kress collection which was hung in 1961. In 1988, the Museum of Art was moved to downtown El Paso. The International Association for the Visual Arts funded purchases for the International Museum of Art and proposed that the building would remain a museum apart from the main art museum downtown. The city of El Paso agreed to keep the building as a museum. Since all of the artwork from the Turney home was moved to a new location, the Turney home was empty. That was until The International Association for the Visual Arts obtained artifacts from all over the world to display in the International Museum of Art. The International Association for the Visual Arts continues to operate the International Museum of Art as of today. The Museum includes collections from all over the world, a gift shop, an auditorium, a hall of fame, painting classes, and rental space for weddings, quinceañeras, and other events. |
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The Turneys
William Ward Turney
William Ward Turney was born July 11, 1861 in Marshall, Texas. He became a teacher in Fort Davis after attending the Sam Houston Normal Institute. William teached in a rather small town, so he decided to open a law office in Murphysville (now Alpine.) He became the first attorney of Brewster County. Later, he met Iva Guthrie, a teacher which he married in 1892. One year after their marriage, in 1893, the Turneys visited El Paso and decided to move there. William was part of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. Turney was involved in the creation of the Elephant Butte Dam and the El Paso Water Rights as well as other cattleman issues in the Southwest. Apart from his many achievements, William and Iva Turney are known as some of the founders of El Paso. They described the city as a desert, but then they helped it become more cultural by adding their conservative “classical” home to the city in 1908. Their home became known by the whole city because the Turneys held events such as the Sun Carnival. William Ward Turney died in El Paso on March 23, 1939. Iva Turney Iva Turney was a school teacher from Murphysville. She married William Turney in 1892 and they moved to El Paso in 1893. Iva and William never got to having children because William was often out of town on business trips while Iva stayed in El Paso. After William passed away in 1939, Iva deeded her home to the museum to the city of El Paso. Her home soon became the El Paso International Museum where she was part of the board of trustees. Iva lived in the El Paso del Norte Hotel the rest of her life. During that time, she attended conventions in Texas and operated her parents’ ranch. Iva Turney died in 1960. |