Marilyn Joy Oshman, an arts professional, patron, and collector who was dedicated to serving the Houston art community, died on Sunday, December 22, 2024.
Marilyn Oshman
Ms. Oshman was born in Houston on September 29, 1939, to Jeannette Epstein Oshman and Jacob Samuel Oshman. Her father launched Oshman’s Sporting Goods, which was a staple in the Houston area for decades. The family business is where Ms. Oshman cultivated her love of the outdoors and business. In 1979, she joined the board of Oshman’s and became the Chairman in 1993. In her leadership role, she spearheaded Women and Sports, a cause-marketing program focused on female consumers, and created Grants for Girls, a program that funded athletic opportunities for young women and girls. Ultimately, in 2001 the family sold the business.
In 1960, Ms. Oshman graduated from Finch College in New York City. While in New York, she developed an appreciation for art and met and married Alvin Lubetkin. The couple relocated to Houston in 1961, and upon her return to her hometown, Ms. Oshman got involved with local arts organizations. She volunteered at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, where she met members of the Ant Farm collective. Later, Ms. Oshman organized two solo shows of their work and commissioned the collective to build a lake house, known as the House of the Century.
Jeff McKissack with Marilyn Oshman and her children
In 1980, following the death of Jeff McKissack, who created The Orange Show, Ms. Oshman formed a nonprofit to preserve the artist’s work. She served as the founding director of the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, and in 1982 following a renovation, the site opened to the public and began hosting programming. Over the last forty years, the organization has grown through its purchase of The Beer Can House and the construction of Smither Park, and is known for its annual Art Car Parade along with the ongoing creative workshops and programs it hosts.
In a social media statement, The Orange Show remarked, “Every city’s art community needs a patron saint — someone with vision and means who uplifts artists and makes the impossible possible. In Houston, that person was Marilyn Oshman.”
Don Mafridge and Marilyn Oshman, 2003 Gala. Photo by George Hixson, courtesy of the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
Jack Massing, the Executive Director of the Orange Show, told Glasstire, “Marilyn was a magical person who had a wonderful sense of wonder. She was always looking for creativity around her. She was always looking for fun. Her smile was contagious, and her eye for art was like a freshly sharpened colored pencil on both ends.
One of her best qualities was that she made fast friends with artists and art champions. Like her buddies Walter Hopps, John & Stephanie Smither, Dominique DeMenil, Ann & Jim Harithas, Betty Moody, and on, and on, and on. Almost every single art person in Houston has been influenced or delighted by Marilyn… The Orange Show remains ours because of her.”
In addition to her role at the Orange Show, Ms. Oshman served as the President of the Contemporary Art Museum Houston; Chairman of the Collections Committee at the Menil Collection, where she was also a board member for 14 years; and as a board member of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Beyond her dedication to arts organizations, Ms. Oshman was also an art collector. Her collection includes works by local artists; contemporary, Surrealist, and outsider art; Tibetan mandalas; and objects like toys and dolls.
In an obituary published in the Houston Chronicle, Ms. Oshman is quoted as saying, “What do I look for in art? Probably the same thing I look for in people…. Something that’s authentic. And authenticity has a vibration. You can’t hear it, but you can feel it.”
Through her work in the sporting industry and her tireless efforts to support local arts organizations, Ms. Oshman’s legacy will reverberate across generations. Though a remembrance has already taken place, the family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to The Marilyn Oshman Orange Show Endowment, at The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art.
