Philantropist; Houston, Texas.
From the description of Nina Cullinan scrapbooks, 1937-1978. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122455433
Arts patrons; Galveston, Texas.
From the description of Nina Cullinan and Mrs. Arthur Boice interviews, 1980 Jan. 15. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220198443
Nina Cullinan (1899-1983) was an art patron from Galveston, Tex.
From the description of Oral history interview with Nina Cullinan and Mrs. Arthur Boice, 1980 Jan. 15 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 613316162
Nina J. Cullinan was one of five children of Joseph Stephen Cullinan, who founded Texaco. He contributed $3,300 for the purchase of an additional acre of land from the Hermann Estate, which was added to their gift of 1-3/4 acre for the site of the MFA,H.
In 1953, Nina Cullinan pledged $250,000 for the MFA,H to build an addition to the museum, stipulating that the architect be of international reputation. Her additional gifts in 1957 and 1958 brought the total gift up to $625,000. As a result, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the museum wing known as Cullinan Hall, which opened on October 11, 1958, when Lee Malone was the museum director. The addition nearly doubled the size of the museum, and included abut 8,000 square feet of exhibition space. Mies van der Rohe designed the first installation for the exhibit, "The Human Image."
The gift for the new hall was to honor her parents, Joseph Stephen and Lucie Halm Cullinan, Nina Cullinan also established a $100,000 endowment for its maintenance. She later received an unusual honor from the Society of Texas Architects for improving the quality of life by sponsoring the construction.
Miss Cullinan served on the MFA,H Board of Trustees for Approximately 50 years, beginning in May 1933, and was elected a lifetime trustee in 1982. She also served on the Contemporary Arts Association Board of Directors and was a moving force behind its establishment in 1948. Cullinan is remembered as a modest philanthropist who shunned descriptions of herself as a patroness of the arts and a benefactress.
Miss Cullinan was also a founding patron of the Society for the Performing Arts, a founding director of the Houston Ballet Foundation, and a benefactor to the Houston Symphony. She served on the National Parks Advisory Committee and gave land for Mary Considine Cullinan Park on Polk Street in memory of her paternal grandmother.
She also served on the boards of the Child Guidance Center, the Houston Mental Health Society, the Fine Arts Advisory Council of the University of Texas, and the American Federation of Art.
Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, she died in Houston on February 22, 1983.
From the description of Nina J. Cullinan papers, 1953-1981. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 80684439
