by his widow, Emma McFaddin McCan Nave, and opened
in 1932 to house Nave’s paintings and contain the library of
the Bronte Study Club. When
the Victoria 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. The city in turn
rented the building to the newly created Victoria Regional
Museum Association, formerly
the McNamara-O’Connor Historical and Fine Arts Museum,
to operate as a visual arts center. In December 2003 the city
deeded over the property to
the Victoria Regional Museum
Association.
The Nave Museum features six to eight
diverse and compelling exhibits each
year, both classical and modern, rangmentor, J. Ferdinand McCan,
Royston Nave met and married
Emma McFaddin McCan. Back in
his native Texas, Nave continued to
paint the landscape he was so fond
of, as well as commissioned portraits. One of his most well-known,
a portrait of Rebecca Fisher, the
“Mother of Texas,” is in the extensive collection of the State Capitol in
Austin. His career included exhibitions not only in New York, but also
the Carnegie International Exhibition of 1919 in Pittsburgh, as well
as numerous regional and national
competitions.
Royston Nave was described as a
“rapid painter”. He traveled widely,
continuously painting and sketching. His primary interests were people and the outdoors, particularly
the landscape of Texas. His works
include landscapes, seascapes, Texas
wildflowers, still-life, and portraits
in oil, mostly in the contemporary
style.
On February 26, 1931, Royston Nave
suffered a fatal heart attack while visiting his brother in Harlingen. The
Royston Nave Memorial, now the
Nave Museum, was commissioned
ing from portraiture
and landscapes by
celebrated
Texas
artist Royston Nave, to Art Car Victoria featuring decorated vehicles from Houston's
Art Car Parade, to mixed media collages by
Austin Street Gallery
In The Walkable Community
Of Downtown Rockport
Wed-Sun 10-5
501 S. Austin Street
Rockport, Texas
361-790-7782