Henry C. Trost designed this 1908 residence for William Ward Turney, and today it houses the International Museum of Art in El Paso. This was the W.W. Turney residence, built in 1908 for William Ward Turney, the state legislator, lawyer, and rancher. The building you face once sheltered collections and, later, the El Paso Museum of Art until 1998.
After that museum moved into its new building, the International Museum of Art reopened here in 1999. Inside, the museum takes up around 14,000 square feet and even includes a 168-seat auditorium plus space for art classes. Your visit traces a longer story: the El Paso International Museum Association began in 1924 and rapidly collected works; Kate Moore Brown helped lead the effort, beginning with the purchase of display cases for the Percival Henderson collection.
The association planned to open a building in 1929 but were deterred by the Great Depression, then received a Texas state charter in 1930. The Women’s Club of El Paso promoted the idea, and in 1941 the museum moved into the former home of State Senator William Ward Turney. The association founded in 1924 finally moved into this Trost-designed house in 1941.