June 19 - August 9, 2020
The Nave Museum is proud to present “The Paintings of Royston Nave,” featuring oil paintings and drawings by Mr. Nave. The majority of the exhibit is from the permanent collection of the Victoria Regional Museum Association. We are also pleased to display six paintings from the collection of Mrs. Mary Carroll McCan, and one owned by Lee Allison.
Royston Nave was born in La Grange, Texas on November 5, 1886, and enjoyed a prolific and successful painting career in both Texas and New York. He traveled widely, painting and sketching as he went. His primary interests were portraits and landscapes, but also created still life images. In 1931, he suffered a fatal heart attack while visiting his brother in Harlingen. He was only 45 years old.
His wife, Emily (Emma) McFaddin McCan Nave was devastated at his death, and had the Nave Museum built to honor his memory in 1932. For the first few years, his paintings were on display for anyone to see, and later, when the Nave became the first library in Victoria, the portraits continued to grace the walls. When the Victoria Public Library on Main Street was built in 1976, Mrs. Nave’s heirs, the McCan family, deeded the building to the city to be used as an art museum for the region, along with the collection of paintings. The city rented the building to the newly created Victoria Regional Museum Association (VRMA), and in December of 2003 the city deeded the property to the VRMA. The paintings traveled to other museums for exhibits over the years, and as a result, got a little travel-worn. For the past three years, the VRMA has been having the paintings from the permanent collection and frames professionally restored.
The exhibit opens to the public on Friday, June 19, and runs through Sunday, August 9. The Nave is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm, and is closed on Mondays. Admission to the Nave is always free! Everyone is encouraged to come see this exhibit and experience this wonderful history of Victoria. Memberships are available and enable art lovers to attend the Opening Night Preview Shows. Call 361-575-8228 to find out how to join.
The Nave Museum will be enforcing social distancing, and we will be frequently cleaning door handles and restroom surfaces. Hand sanitizer will also be available to keep our visitors safe. Face coverings are suggested, but not required at this time.
306 West Commerical Street
Victoria, TX
(361) 520-4458
Get directions