Austin Museum Day

The historic Byrne-Reed House will open its doors to the public on Sunday, September 22, 2019, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to celebrate Austin Museum Day with two Humanities Texas exhibitions—Vaquero: Genesis of the Texas Cowboy and Images of Valor: U.S. Latinos and Latinas of World War II. Visitors will have an opportunity to view the exhibitions, learn more about Humanities Texas programs, and take a guided tour of the Byrne-Reed House.

Vaquero: Genesis of the Texas Cowboy
In the early 1970s, noted Texas historian Joe Frantz offered Bill Wittliff a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—to visit a ranch in northern Mexico where the vaqueros still worked cattle in traditional ways. Wittliff photographed the vaqueros as they went about daily chores that had changed little since the first Mexican cowherders learned to work cattle from a horse's back. Vaquero: Genesis of the Texas Cowboy features photographs with bilingual narrative text that reveal the muscle, sweat, and drama that went into roping a calf in thick brush or breaking a wild horse in the saddle.

Images of Valor: U.S. Latinos and Latinas of World War II
This exhibition provides a historical overview of Latino American participation in World War II and features historical photographs from the Voces Oral History Project archives and contemporary photographs by photojournalist Valentino Mauricio of men and women of the WWII generation. Images of Valor focuses on individual stories that reveal larger themes such as citizenship and civil rights and includes excerpts from the more than five hundred oral history interviews that were part of the project.

Humanities Texas is only one of many Austin-area museums and cultural sites participating in Museum Day. Organized by the Austin Museum Partnership, Museum Day happens once a year and features free exhibitions and activities at participating sites around the city. For a complete list of activities, visit the Austin Museum Partnership website.