Elisabet Ney, Austin Sculptor

One of Austin's most colorful characters graced the city a century ago. Elisabet Ney, Texas's first sculptor, worked in a small stone studio hidden in a thick grove of trees. Here she entertained guests from Enrico Caruso to William Jenning Bryan.

But Elisabet Ney's story begins long before Austin ever heard of the small, eccentric woman who would later bring art to Texas. Born in Germany in 1833, she studied in Berlin and Munich and, at an early age, Ney became one of the first sculptresses of the world, molding the likenesses of King Ludwig II (the "Mad King of Bavaria" who was also to become her friend), writer Joseph Grimm, composer Richard Wagner, and Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismark.

Her career continued to soar, and at the age of 42 she married Dr. Edmund Montgomery, beginning some of the wild stories which would surround Ney for the rest of her life. Elisabet refused to acknowledge the marriage, continued to call herself "Miss Ney", would not wear a wedding ring, and always referred to her husband as "my best friend." Scandal which began in Europe regarding their relationship followed the couple when they immigrated to America in 1871. Just exactly why the couple moved to America is still a mystery. One story concerns the possibility that Elisabet was a spy during the war.

Whatever the reason, the couple finally settled in Hempstead near Houston. Their mansion, named Liedo, was home for Ney, Montgomery, and their two sons--Arthur and Lorne. Gossip once again reared its ugly head, and the community was rife with rumors that the couple was unmarried and later that Elisabet had burned the body of son Arthur in the parlor fireplace after he died of diphtheria. (He was actually cremated on the plantation to prevent an epidemic.)

For many years, Elisabet continued to live at Liedo, her sculpting skills going unused until 1892 when she was commissioned to sculpt Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin for the World's Fair Colombian Exhibit in Chicago. At the age of 59, her career was begun anew and art was introduced to Texas.

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