History

Founded in 1992 by Dr. and Mrs. William Hayden, the museum has as its purpose to exhibit pieces from the private collection so arranged as to gain maximum educational benefit from the display. The thrust of the museum is education, with an emphasis on very close ties to local and regional educational institutions at all levels including college and university. The museum is housed in a newly constructed building at 930 Cardinal Lane, adjacent to the home of Dr. and Mrs. William Hayden. Also included in the museum complex is the Texas House, a restored 100-year old small Victorian house from Paris decorated with Texas antiques and Texas memorabilia, and the main house, with the Louisiana furniture collection, which may be viewed by appointment.

A branch of the museum is located at 8 West Plaza, Paris, and is dedicated to the exhibition and sale of works by Lamar County artists. There are two floors for a total of 3500 square feet. The building has been restored to period 1917 structure.

Artifacts Collections

Louisiana Gallery: 18th and 19th Century Acadian and Louisiana decorative arts in the 784 square foot entrance gallery area. This is housed in a reproduced bousillage room typical of Acadian architecture.

Southwest Gallery: Arts from the Southwest United States, including Native American items. This ranges from archival photography by William Henry Jackson and Carlton Watkins to contemporary artists. The Native American collection includes representations from the Kiowa School, the Dorothy Dunn School, the Bacone College School, and many others. Sculpture, baskets, and Navajo weavings are displayed.

American Art Gallery (2,816 square feet), commencing with Folk Art and proceeding to Modern and Contemporary Art, chronologically collected and arranged with the idea of presentation coinciding with the history of the United States. A sampling includes such artists as Ammi Phillips, Thomas Moran, John Lewis Krimmel, William Sidney Mount, George Caleb Bingham, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, John Twatchman, Robert Henri, John Sloan, Walk Kuhn, Thomas Hart Benton, Arthur Dove, Robert Natkin, Robert Rauschenberg. Archival photography including examples by Clarence White, Gertrude Kasebier, Edward Steichen, Alfred Steiglitz, Paul Strand, Lewis Hine, Ansel Adams, Jerry Usellman, and others. The collection of American chairs ranges from the Pilgrim period to contemporary designs by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Library and Confederate Gallery (784 square feet): Library consisting of approximately 200 volumes on American art, complete runs of Antiques Magazine from 1965, and other periodicals and catalogues collected throughout the years. Archival photography from the period of the War Between the States including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, Carte-de-visites, and original photographs by Matthew Brady, including the last photograph made of Lee in his uniform still in the original Brady mount. Weapons from the war are als