Page 213 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

Dr. George S. Heyer, Jr., Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, circa 1970s.

well-respected patron of the arts and a scholar of Christian theology, would see either in their shops or on his routine trips to international art fairs in
A Dr. George S. Heyer Jr. led a life characterized by his deep interest in, and New York, London and Maastricht. But it was likely an art tour he and his wife
love of, art. His passion and knowledge were expressed not only through his art took to China in the late 1970s, a trip very few Americans made at the time, that
collection, but also by his service as Chairman of the Texas State Commission sowed the seeds for the fnal collection he assembled — early artworks from
on the Arts and Humanities, Chairman of the Advisory Council for the College of China, India, Southeast Asia and Himalaya. Over the years, many scholars
Fine Arts at the University of Texas, Austin, and as a longstanding Trustee of the have commented on how rare it is to see a collection with such breadth
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Dr. Heyer also served as a devoted member of across various cultures, periods, and mediums, that also refects a deep
the Museum Collections Committee for decades. understanding of, and discerning eye for, pieces that express the true beauty of
a particular art form.
In graduate school, Dr. Heyer began collecting pieces that would eventually
become the collection he is best known for publicly - one of the world’s Dr. Heyer’s eforts as a patron were unmistakably concentrated on his home
great small-scale collections of fne English silver produced between state of Texas, where his family had well-established roots: his great uncle was
1660 and 1760, which included the famous “Ely Ewer” by Paul de Lamerie. Earnest Nalle, who built the foundation for the Paramount Theater in Austin
While he befriended and was well known to silver dealers in New York and in 1915; and the gymnasium at the University of Texas at Austin was named
London, it was legendary dealer Eric Shrubsole’s friendship and guidance after his grandfather, Thomas Watt Gregory, U.S. Attorney General under
that proved indispensable to Dr. Heyer over the decades that it took to Woodrow Wilson. Dr. Heyer, however, received a bachelor’s degree in religion
assemble the collection. This collection has been bequeathed to the at Princeton in 1952, a bachelor’s of divinity from Yale in 1956, and fnally, a
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. PhD in religious studies from Yale in 1963. Dr. Heyer returned to Texas to serve
as a minister at the First Presbyterian Church in San Angelo prior to pursuing
A voracious and passionate reader, Dr. Heyer loved the process of learning his doctorate and later, to teach the history of Christian doctrine at Austin
about, and then collecting, art across various categories, with his collection Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where he worked from 1964 to 1993.
eventually including Old Master drawings and paintings, Impressionist art
and Contemporary art. Coupled with his love of travel, Dr. Heyer developed A true gentleman and connoisseur, Christie’s is pleased to ofer a selection of
lifelong friendships with some of the top art dealers in the world, whom he works from the collection of Dr. George S. Heyer, Jr.

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