This house and studio is an impressive example of Romanesque Revival. Its rustic stonework and articulated arches make an imposing edifice true to the style. Ney was born in Munster, Germany, in 1833 and studied sculpture at the Munich Art Academy. Although a successful sculptor of well-known people, she and her husband, Edmund Montgomery, immigrated to the United States, settling in Texas by 1872. They purchased the Groce Plantation (See PF1) in Waller County, renaming it Liendo. Ney prepared statues of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, copies of which reside in the capitols in Austin and Washington, D.C. She established the Austin studio in 1892. Montgomery supported the early efforts of Prairie View Normal School (see PF1) while the couple lived at Liendo. Four years after her death in 1907, Ney's supporters established the Texas Fine Arts Association, the earliest statewide artistic organization, in her honor.
Elisabet Ney House and Studio
1892, 1902, Shipe and Lebold, contractors; Fisher and Lambie, builders; 1981 restoration, Bell, Klein and Hoffman. 304 E. 44th St.