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The McFaddin-Ward House, built in 1905–1906, is a Beaux-Arts Colonial-style historic home museum in Beaumont. The museum features admission-free tours of the house, educational programming, year-round events, a Carriage House exhibition, and gardens.
Humanities Texas recently awarded a grant to the McFaddin-Ward House to support the development of a public lecture series. The next presentation—"Rembrandt or Rem-Burned: The 3 F's of Art Crime: Frauds, Forgeries and Fakes"—is scheduled on Thursday, April 10, and will feature Former FBI Special Agent and art crime expert Robert Wittman. For those who cannot attend in person, the lecture will be streamed via the museum's Facebook event page.
Members of our grants team spoke with Bel Morian, public programming director for the McFaddin-Ward House, about the organization's work in the humanities and their recently awarded grant.
Interview with Bel Morian, public programming director for the McFaddin-Ward House
Please tell us about your organization.
The McFaddin-Ward House campus is about five acres. On the campus, we have the historic house itself, the historic carriage house, a very large collections building, an administration building, and a workshop. All our buildings and the house represent a continuum of use and change during the period of 1907 through 1950.
Please tell us about your current programming and your recently awarded grant.
We hold a lecture series that runs January through May, and at Christmas time we do a big holiday open house event for the community. This event usually sees five hundred to six hundred people each night. In March, we have a very large event for the community called SOAR. It's a month-long event, but the big day is our Family Day. It's on a Sunday and we bring in artists and have activities for the children and families and good music. It's all free to the public. We also have music on the lawn during the good weather, and, at times, movies on the lawn.
What is something you're enjoying about your current program?
Regarding the lecture series, it's just so much fun creating them. It's kind of like a puzzle. I have a lot of fun researching all the different speakers that we might use, and I learn a lot when I'm doing my research. It's such a privilege to have the speakers on campus here. I get to visit with them and interact with them, and then seeing the audience engage and enjoy the speaker is very rewarding.
What/who makes your work possible?
The McFadden Heritage Foundation provides all the funding for our museum, and it was established for the historic house to be an educational and cultural resource for our area. This foundation, along with our visionary board leadership, allows us to provide creative and engaging public programming. Our board of directors is very forward-thinking.
What led you to a career in the humanities?
Well, I have a business background, but I come from a family of artists. The arts are my love and my passion, so I'm fortunate to have landed here in this position, which lets me use both of my skill sets.
If someone is visiting your area, where would you recommend they visit?
Of course, here first. We are proud to be number one on Trip Advisor's Traveler Choice Awards. I would also suggest the John Jay French House, which gives an insight into an earlier, less affluent time period. Then the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. Although it's small, Beaumont has produced a lot of artists, musicians, and more, and you can find that at the Museum of the Gulf Coast, too.