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

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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