First Gifts to Texas
Archer Huntington was a man with many talents. He was certainly a philanthropist, having founded and or given millions of dollars to various organizations in his lifetime and beyond. He once commented "wherever I put my foot down, a museum springs up!”
Huntington's major cultural contribution to Texas came in 1927 when he decided to “put his foot down” on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. His wife's sculpture, Diana of the Chase, was presented to the University by Mrs. Thomas S. Maxey.
The gift alerted Huntington to the need for an art museum at the University of Texas. He gave over 4000 acres of land along Galveston Bay to the institution to serve as revenue for the establishment of an art museum. Over the years some 1,500 books from the Huntington estate were also given to the University from various sources. The art museum eventually opened in 1963.
The collections of the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery are now part of the Blanton Museum on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.